Webster is Not the Only Dictionary with New Words for 2009

People across the world are discussing some of the new words that have made their dictionary debut in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Some of the new words are common to many of us; including acai, memory foam, and naproxen.

More than a month ago, Oxford English Dictionary added many new words as well, including an entire section from rean to recyclist. So, what is all the newest? Here is a sample:

Merriam-Webster - acai, carbon footprint, cardioprotective, earmark, fan fiction, flash mob, frenemy, goji, green-collar, haram, locavore, memory foam, missalette, naproxen, neuroprotective, pharmacogenetics, physiatry, reggaeton, shawarma, sock puppet, staycation, vlog, waterboarding, webisode, and zip line.

Oxford - afference, a-gay, amateur night, Baader-Meinhof, bailout, blizzarding, blue state, bupkis, Bushism, Bushist, buttload, cami, car-booter, Clintonesque, densification, dwarf planet, footwell, fudgsicle, gallerist, grilled cheese, hardbody, inartful, jakey, kulfi, naser, searchability, swotty, and turducken.

The changes did not stop there with Oxford. New meanings were added to many entries throughout the dictionary. These changes include bail, beer, breakfast, cat, cup, drive-through, enabler, hater, homer, jury, knob, knock, spot, sugar, turn, and yo-yo.

In 1831, George and Charles Merriam started their printing and bookselling business in Springfield, Massachusetts. Back then the dictionary was named G. & C. Merriam Co. In 1982, the company was renamed Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

The first Merriam-Webster dictionary was released in September 1847. At $6.00 a copy, it was praised among President Polk and others.

In 1857, the Philological Society of London called for a new English dictionary. They decided that the existing English dictionaries were incomplete and wanted an examination of the language dating back to Anglo-Saxon.

The dictionary, then named the New English Dictionary, was planned to be over 6,000 pages, dating back to 1150 AD. A timeline of ten years was set in place, but after five years, they had only gotten as far as the word 'ant'.

The first part to the projected four-volume dictionary was published in 1884. The last volume was published in April 1928. At that time, the dictionary published under the name A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles and exceeded to ten volumes.

Each dictionary is well known among anyone who has ever needed to look up a word definition or synonym. Both have extensive history, and an obscene amount of time and work that was put into the dictionaries that we know today.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/newwords09.htm

http://www.oed.com/help/updates/latest-additions.html#oos

http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/index.htm#

http://www.oed.com/about/history.html