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More than 100 new words, from acai to zip line via carbon footprint and waterboarding, have entered the mainstream in the United States after being added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. As every year, the new words paint a sociological picture of trends and events that are influencing Americans. Health and medicine, technology, and words related to food and eating are well represented. The three rubrics have been the richest picking grounds for new words in the last decade. This year, health-nuts could claim that becoming a "locavore" -- someone who eats locally grown foods -- has helped them kick the need for "naproxen" ... Read Full Story

Merriam-Webster Inc. has added more than 100 entries to the latest edition of its Collegiate Dictionary. Here are some, along with the year in which Merriam-Webster researchers first found them used in an English-language publication, and their meanings: Acai (1868): a small dark purple fleshy berrylike fruit of a tall slender palm (Euterpe oleracea) of tropical Central and South America that is often used in beverages. Carbon footprint (1999): the negative impact that something (as a person or business) has on the environment; specifically: the amount of carbon emitted by something during a given period. Cardioprotective (1984): serving to protect the heart. Earmark (15c): ... Read Full Story

Leading technology developers for mobile devices, Paragon Software Group, has launched the world-famous Merriam-Webster’s Dictionaries application for iPhone and iPod Touch. The application consists of one explanatory and two bilingual – Spanish-English and French-English dictionaries. The database contains over 476,00 entries with more than 143,000 etymologies detailing word origins, 100,000 quotations and 1,100 synonymy paragraphs. You can access the dictionary anywhere without an Internet connection. The Merriam-Webster’s French-English Dictionary provides the most extensive coverage of Canadian French words and phrases. The Merriam-Webster’s Spanish English Dictionary covers Latin American and European Spanish, and contains over 80,000 entries and 100,000 translations. The application uses a SlovoEd ... Read Full Story

If you have ever misheard a song or poem and come up with your own version of the words, you are already familiar with the concept of the " mondegreen ," one of over 100 new words included in the annual update of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary , Eleventh Edition . Mondegreen -a noun defined as a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung-was first coined by author Sylvia Wright in 1954, when she wrote an article for Atlantic magazine confessing to a childhood misinterpretation of the Scottish ballad "The Bonny Earl of Moray." When she first heard the ... Read Full Story

A completely revised and updated edition of this best-selling language reference is now available. Covers the core vocabulary of everyday life with over 75,000 clear, concise definitions . Includes pronunciations, word origins and synonym lists. Special sections and tables. Since 1937. Merriam-Webster is America's foremost publisher of language-related reference works. The company publishes a diverse array of print and electronic products, including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition – America's best-selling desk dictionary – and Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster can be considered the direct lexicographical heir of Noah Webster. In 1843, the company bought the rights to the 1841 edition of Webster's ... Read Full Story