Bitcoin Is in the Dictionary — Alongside Miley Cyrus' 'Dancing'

Bitcoin has gained legitimacy from an unexpected source — it has been added to the Oxford Dictionary Online, along with several other less cultivated words, such as "twerk" and "selfie."

The word "twerk," defined by Oxford as a sexually provocative dance that combines "thrusting hip movements" and "squatting," has marred many headlines describing music star Miley Cyrus' performance this week at the MTV Video Music Awards show — with some wondering if she gave the word "twerk" the final thrust it needed to land in Oxford's online dictionary.

"Selfie," a photo of oneself typically taken with a cell phone, has its own unsavory connotations following the repeated self-portrait scandals of New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner.

And although the digital currency Bitcoin has gained more mainstream acceptance in recent months, it is still commonly associated with illegal activities such as online drug sales.

"The internet and social media has given people a new place to discuss things and it is giving rise to a huge amount of vocabulary such as 'selfie'," Angus Stevenson, head of dictionary projects at Oxford Dictionaries told CNBC.

Bitcoin businesses struggle to find banking partners and obtain proper licensing, but governments and regulators are starting to take the digital currency seriously.

Germany recently declared Bitcoin "private money" and its users obligated to pay sales tax and capital gains tax. There's also been talk that Bloomberg is testing a bitcoin price ticker, XBT.

And the Bitcoin Foundation, a trade group, met with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network as well as regulators and law enforcement officials in Washington D.C. this week to discuss oversight and virtual currency guidance.

The Oxford Dictionary Online is more frequently updated than the Oxford English Dictionary. The latest update to the online dictionary also includes words such as phablet, a smartphone with a larger than normal screen; unlike, revoking one's social media approval; and digital detox, a period of time in which someone refrains from using electronic devices.