Eminem-Inspired Term 'Stan' Has Been Added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Finally, Stan is getting the attention he so desperately craved.

On Monday, Merriam-Webster announced on Twitter it has added the Eminem-inspired word "stan" as both a noun and a verb. The term derives from the rapper's 2000 hit, "Stan," a song about an overly obsessive fan of the same name.

In the years that followed, the slang word became popular in pop-culture as people would use it to identify themselves or others as "stans" of certain celebrities or fandoms.

According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, "stan," as a noun is defined as "an extremely or excessively enthusiastic and devoted fan," while the verb is "to exhibit fandom to an extreme or excessive degree: to be an extremely devoted and enthusiastic fan of someone or something."

The website even has concrete examples on how the term is used, like a quote from Alan Sepinwall, which reads: "On the drama side, 'Game of Thrones' returns after its own year off, but for an abbreviated season that even the most die-hard Westeros stans seemed lukewarm about."

Check out the entry in the image below.

The term was added to the Oxford English Dictionary back in 2017.

Eminem's song, "Stan," which inspired the word, focuses on a diehard fan named Stan, who is so obsessed with the rapper he dresses like him, has an Eminem shrine and continuously writes him letters.

After all of the letters go unanswered, Stan ultimately commits murder-suicide by driving drunk off an overpass, with his pregnant girlfriend in the trunk.

"Dear Mister 'I'm Too Good To Call Or Write My Fans' / This will be the last package I ever send your a-- / It's been six months and still no word, I don't deserve it? / I know you got my last two letters, I wrote the addresses on 'em perfect / So this is my cassette I'm sending you, I hope you hear it / I'm in the car right now, I'm doing 90 on the freeway / Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive?" Stan narrates in his final message.

The final verse sees Eminem finally finding the time to reply to Stan's fan mail, only realizing while writing the end of his own letter that it is too late.

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