What do you call a word that doesn't exist but that everyone uses? - English example sentence

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tommy_san October 23, 2013 October 23, 2013 at 4:14:53 AM UTC

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I was also wondering. If someone is using it, how can it be that it doesn't exist?

Dejo October 23, 2013 October 23, 2013 at 5:34:52 PM UTC

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This sentence was inspired by a long discussion in Spanish about the word "desafortunadamente" which according to one contributor doesn't exist. In English, dictionaries tend to be "descriptive" which means that any word used by the public will likely end up in the dictionary. In other languages like Spanish and German, dictionaries are "prescriptive" which means that only words found in the dictionaries are sanctioned for use, and words not in the dictionaries are deemed not to exist.