Oxford Dictionary Turns Classic Eminem Song Into New Word

Stan has finally received the recognition he so desperately craved. The fictional character behind the 2000 hit song from Eminem has officially been added as a new word in the Oxford English Dictionary.

According to the dictionary team, the word stan now can official be used as a noun or verb with the following definitions:

“An overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity” (noun)

“Be an overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity” (verb)

In the verb usage, they use an example of a Katy Perry fan:

“Y’all know I stan for Katy Perry, so I was excited to see the artwork for her upcoming album.”

It’s not the first time a word popularized by a musician has become an official word in recent years, with other entries including “YOLO” (Drake), “Cray” (Kanye West), and “Bootylicious” (Beyoncé).

The song “Stan” has a rich history for Eminem and his fans. After accusations of being homophobic, Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers, famously appeared onstage at the 2001 Grammy Awards with singer Elton John to perform a version of the song that quickly went viral.

In 2013, Eminem revisited the Stan character on “Bad Guy,” the opening track of his “Marshall Mathers 2” album, rapping that the character was “maybe gone, but not forgotten.” And it would appear the folks at the Oxford English Dictionary agree.