Words are a vital part of how we communicate, but the words we use change over time.

Sometimes, it’s a generational shift and in other situations, they better reflect new developments in current events or advanced technologies.

And Merriam-Webster has unveiled a new feature, Time Traveler, that lets you look up a word and see when it first became part of the vernacular.

To help us understand all of that a lot better, we spoke with Cindi SturtzSreetharan. She’s an associate professor in ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change.