Merriam-Webster's Word Of 2014: Culture

Via the Associated Press:

A nation, a workplace, an ethnicity, a passion, an outsized personality. The people who comprise these things, who fawn or rail against them, are behind Merriam-Webster's 2014 word of the year: culture. The word joins Oxford Dictionaries' "vape," a darling of the e-cigarette movement, and "exposure," declared the year's winner at Dictionary.com during a time of tragedy and fear due to Ebola. Merriam-Webster based its pick and nine runners-up on significant increases in lookups this year over last on Merriam-Webster.com, along with interesting, often culture-driven - if you will - spikes of concentrated interest. In the No. 2 spot is "nostalgia," during a year of big 50th anniversaries pegged to 1964: the start of the free speech movement, the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the birth of the Ford Mustang and the British Invasion heralded by the landing of the Beatles on U.S. soil for the first time.

Merriam-Webster's Top Words For 2012

Merriam-Webster has issued a list of the year's top ten most searched for definitions on their website. The first two words are tied.

1. socialism and capitalism
2. touché
3. bigot
4. marriage
5. democracy
6. professionalism
7. globalization
8. malarkey
9. schadenfreude
10. meme

I'm guessing we had something to do with #3 & #4.

Newly Added To Merriam-Webster

Here are a few of the words and terms added to the 2012 edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary by its editor Peter Sokolowski: F-bomb, sexting, man cave, earworm, energy drink, flexitarian, mash-up, e-reader, craft beer, and shovel-ready. A couple of existing words have had new definitions added: toxic (in a political sense) and underwater (regarding home mortgages.) Flexitarian, which describes a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat or fish, was a new one to me.

Today In Wingnuttery

A California school district has pulled all the dictionaries from its libraries after a parent complained that a student was able to look up the definition of "oral sex."

School officials will review the dictionary to decide if it should be permanently banned because of the "sexually graphic" entry, said district spokeswoman Betti Cadmus. The dictionaries were initially purchased a few years ago for fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms districtwide, according to a memo to the superintendent. "It's just not age appropriate," said Cadmus, adding that this is the first time a book has been removed from classrooms throughout the district. "It's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature," Cadmus said. She explained that other dictionary entries defining human anatomy would probably not be cause for alarm.

We should applaud this wise school district. Why, those kids are just one definition away from strapping on dildos and going crazy!

CORRECTION: When I looked up Menifee, the first result was a town in Arkansas. The Menifee school district in this story is in southern California. My apologies.

Merriam-Webster: Where Have YOU People Been? We Did That Six Years Ago

It turns out that the wingnuts are a little behind the curve with all this screaming about Merriam-Webster updating the definition of marriage. According to the company, they made the change in 2003. Actually, it's kind of mind-blowing that nobody on either side has picked up on that in six years. Yesterday Merriam-Webster responded to all the nasty emails coming in from Outer Wingnutia:

"In recent years, this sense of 'marriage' has appeared frequently and consistently through a broad spectrum of carefully edited publications, and is often used in phrases such as 'same-sex marriage' and 'gay marriage' by proponents and opponents alike," the statement read. "Its inclusion was a simple matter of providing dictionary users with accurate information about all of the word's current uses." Merriam-Webster spokesman Arthur Bicknell added that the company was surprised the revision was creating a stir only now. "What we are finding odd is that this is neither news nor unusual," Bicknell said. "In fact, we were kind of late to the party. We were one of the last ones among the major dictionary publishers to do this."

American Heritage updated their marriage entry in 2000 to read:

1a. The legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife. b. The state of being married; wedlock. and c. A common-law marriage," is "A union between two persons having the customary but usually not the legal force of marriage: a same-sex marriage."

The Oxford English Dictionary says they are about to make a change, and their proposed entry is the one I wish all the others would use:

marriage: the condition of being a husband or wife; the relation between persons married to each other; matrimony."

Perfect.

Marriage Has Been Literally Redefined

Well kids, we have done it. We have literally redefined marriage. And I say "literally" in the literal sense of the word. Check out the new definition of marriage according to Merriam-Webster.Of course, we'd rather see Section 1 of that definition as only one line saying: "Marriage: the state of being united to another adult in a consensual or contractual relationship recognized by law." But, you know, baby steps. Bonus fun: the wingnuts are already pulling their hair out.

One of the nation's most prominent dictionary companies has resolved the argument over whether the term "marriage" should apply to same-sex duos or be reserved for the institution that has held families together for millennia: by simply writing a new definition. "I was shocked to see that Merriam-Webster changed their definition of the word 'marriage,' a word which has referred exclusively to a contract between a man and a woman for centuries. It has now added same sex," YouTube user Eric B. noted to WND.

Next time they scream, "You're REDEFINING marriage!", just tell them that train has left the station, or that ship has sailed, or whatever transportation metaphor your prefer. Heh.

New To The Dictionary

Among the new words added to this year's Merriam-Webster dictionary: netroots, webinar, air quotes, Texas Hold 'Em, mondegreen, pescatarian, infinity pool, dirty bomb, mental health day, subprime. I'm still waiting for "embiggen" to make it. Also: "greedy bottom."

W00t!

The Merriam-Webster word of the year for 2007: w00t!

The rest of this year's top ten:

2. facebook
3. conundrum
4. quixotic
5. blamestorm
6. sardoodledom
7.apathetic
8. Pecksniffian
9. hypocrite
10. charlatan

Last year's word of the year: truthiness.
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