The term “bae” is an internet slang term typically used to describe someone who is attractive or endearing and that you care about. It stands for “before anyone else” and is derived from the phrase “babe,” which traditionally has referred to a romantic partner. It has become widely used among teenagers and young adults on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
From Yolo (you only live once), and Lol to BTW and Bae, there are thousands of acronyms that have been added to the online Dictionary since the 2000s and likely won’t stop soon because new ones are being discovered. Bae is among such new buzz acronyms to English language and is found in well-known dictionaries such as the Oxford Dictionaries where it is defined as ‘a person’s boyfriend or girlfriend.
As a matter of fact, it is one of the most used or common acronyms in the world right now. It has become a pet name that most teens or adults use to refer to their lovers. It could be their boyfriend or girlfriend, wife or husband or even a crush. But it’s not because it is simple to pronounce or because it is classy.
Rather, it’s because of the meaning and usage that stands out in a context or sense that is already stuffed with thousands of words. But what exactly is the meaning of BAE? There is a lot more meaning to the word than being a pet name. Here is everything you must know about the term including how to use it.
What Does Bae Stand For?
Interestingly, the meaning of Bae is “Before anyone else’. How special? This explains why everybody prefers to call their lovers “bae”usually written in lowercase to replace babe or boo on social media.
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The Origin Of BAE
The word which has become the most endearing word for most lovers dates back to 2003 when the first user-submitted definition and published it in the Urban Dictionary. Nobody is certain of its true origin but it started with a tweet from a Twitter user stating that the term was an abbreviation for “before anyone else”.
But the twitter user wasn’t the person that discovered the word. The term has popped up in the past but it is with higher case written as BAE. This particular higher-case abbreviation has a more serious or formal meaning (British Aerospace which is BAE systems). But how did it change so fast?
The word didn’t gain immediate acceptance. It took the abbreviation up to 11 years to become popular having gone viral in 2014. This is contrary to other memes that circulate wildly and rapidly on the internet. Many have brushed the term aside for so long as a result of the long confusion over its meaning and pronunciation which was a subject of discussion on the internet throughout the time.
Luckily, the recent turnout of events have made the internet more social and flexible than ever, the term that got altered in 2003 has come to stay. The sudden acceptance which started in 2014 has seen the word gets talked about by famous Youtubers, tweeted about, made it to Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram statuses and other social media platforms.
The term has so gained fame that musicians now incorporate it in their hits. Some of the popular stars who have taken advantage of the term include Pharrell Willams in his song titled “Come Get It Bae” which helped in making the term more famous than ever.
The Usage of Bae
Bae is not used for everyone like we mentioned earlier. It is often used for friends or people that you feel close to or you care about. It is also used for people that you trust or have romantic feelings for. Many people use the term in different ways whether online or offline.
The good thing is, bae helps users to completely strike out “my” when referring to their lover. Therefore rather than update a status that reads: “fun time with my boo” or enjoying this velvet cake with my baby, you would say fun time with bae or enjoying this velvet cake with bae. As you’ all know, written words aren’t the same with spoken words. When you read a text, it sure doesn’t sound like when you have a face-to-face discussion with the same person that sent the message. However, in whatever way you use the term, it usually conveys the same meaning which is usually special.
A Few Examples of How BAE is Used Are As Follows:
- Swimming with Bae
- Bae came through on my birthday
- I just said yes to bae’s proposal
- Bae of life
- The view is always peaceful with bae
