Search U.S. Business and Technology News
|
|
|
|
Merriam-Webster Announces 2004 Words of the Year
Published: Tue, 30 Nov 2004, 01:24 EST
|
By Christopher Simmons
Staff Writer, Publishers Newswire
|
|
Merriam-Webster Inc., America's leading language reference publisher, announced today the year's top ten words and definitions as culled from its popular Web site Merriam-Webster OnLine (www.Merriam-Webster.com).
The 2004 Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year list is based on users' anonymous queries to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Online Thesaurus as well as lookups on Merriam-Webster Collegiate.com (www.Merriam-WebsterCollegiate.com), a premium Web site that offers exclusive online access to the Eleventh Edition of the best- selling Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary.
The number one word of the year, receiving the largest number of user- requests by a wide margin, is "blog," defined in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary, Eleventh Edition as: "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer."
Eight of the top ten words relate to breaking news stories from the past year, ranging from the 2004 presidential election ("electoral," #3) to natural phenomena ("cicada," #6). Topping off the list is "defenestration," the winning entry in Merriam-Webster's "What's Your Favorite Word?" online survey held earlier this year.
"While most of our online dictionary lookups are for slightly difficult but still generic nonspecialized vocabulary," said John M. Morse, president and publisher of Merriam-Webster, "it does sometimes happen that words in the headlines so grab people's attention that they become a most frequently looked-up word. That is what occurred in this year's election cycle (to a level not seen since the days of 'chad' in 2000) with voluminous hits for words like 'incumbent,' 'electoral,' 'partisan,' and, of course, our number one Word of the Year, 'blog.'"
"By tracking the words people are looking up on Merriam-Webster OnLine, and by paying careful attention to the thousands of e-mails we receive each year from visitors to our sites," said Morse, "we are developing a better idea of what people want from reference sources. Online customer response can help lead our editorial staff to make adjustments in revisions of print dictionaries."
Traffic to Merriam-Webster OnLine now exceeds 100 million individual page views per month. On average, the company responds to approximately ten lookup requests in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary or Thesaurus per second. During peak hours, this may increase to more than 100 requests per second.
For the complete list of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year, including definitions, please visit
www.Merriam-Webster.com/info/04words.htm
|
News
|
| Author Dee Dee Phelps Introduced at the Book Publicists of Southern California Awards Dinner |
| Florida Poet Kay Day Chosen to Organize Reading at Library of Congress |
| Chicagoland Beer Author Bob Skilnik Returns to WGN Radio, Rolls Out More Book Signing Dates |
| Brother and Sister Writing Team Release New SF Novel 'StarKazar' |
| New Book 'Lemon Curd' Follows Implications of Office Relationship |
| Chick Lit Meets Erotica in New Novel that Parodies Popular Television Series 'Desperate Housewives' |
| New Action Adventure Novel, The Organizer, is the Tale of WWII Vet Turned Union Boss |
| Football is Life in the Tiny Community of Derby, Conn., Until the Baseball Team Proves Otherwise |
| New Business Strategy Book and CD-ROM Asks the Why and Provides the How |
| Book: From Death to Disparity - A Mysterious Foretelling of the Future |
| Tax Expert, Author and Reformer says 'Boot the Democrats Out!' |
| BBQ Cookbook Author's Restaurant Voted Best in Kentucky |
| Medical Writing Team Pen Book that Celebrates the Miracle of Life |
| New Book Reveals a Disturbing Tax Revelation: Another Reason to Distrust Democrats? |
| Neurotech Reports to host 2006 Neurotech Leaders Forum in S.F. |
| Single Mamahood Author Kelly Williams Launches Online Portal and Blog for Single Moms |
| New DVD Teaches Parents How to Understand What Their Kids Are Viewing on MySpace |
| Epic Level Adventure Awaits Fantasy Producer in Hollywood |
| New Firefighter Romance Novel Heats up the Literary Market |
| Controversial New Novel Challenges Traditional Christian Genre |
|
Articles
|
| Interview: Brian Rock, Author of 'Don't Play with Your Food!' |
| Interview: Marcus Dino, Author of 'Fifi: Anything Goes in the Double Os' |
| Interview: Steve Haberman, Author of 'Murder Without Pity' |
| Interview: Berna Bennett, Author of 'A Gentle Approach to Teaching Children to Swim' |
| Interview: Bryant Oden, Author of 'Never Lick a Gift Horse in the Mouth!' |
| Interview: William Ash, Author of the 'Camilions' Personalized Children's Book Series |
| Interview: Steve P. Jefferson, Author of 'Charter Schools: A Descriptive Study of Empowerment' |
| Interview: Michael Archer, Author of 'Firestorm' |
| The Present and Future of e-Books |
| The Benefits of Media Coaching for Book Authors |
| Interview: Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr., Author of 'The Parthenon Code' |
| Interview: Chef Bruce Brennan, The Hippy Gourmet |
| Interview: Richard Samson, Author of 'Mind Over Technology' |
| Interview: Archbishop Desmond Tutu |
| Using PR to Market Your Book - How to Write a Press Release |
|
Book Bloggers
|
| Authors-Publishers Avoid Internet Scams |
| Burning Books - Extreme Reaction or Proof of Uncompromising Devotion to God, asks Bob Miller |
| POD Superstar or Vanity Press Deception? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
