February's TOP TWENTY

Six of the ten Words of the Year for 2005 continued to make the Top Twenty list in February. Among these, filibuster slipped from No. 2 to No. 10 position, while integrity moved back to No. 3 — once again the most looked-up word in the dictionary other than effect and affect. Also moving a few notches were insipid, inept, and contempt, while pandemic held steady at No. 9.

See February's full list and find out what comic strip had a notable effect on the list last month.

Words in the News: sectarian

Although it didn't make the Top Twenty list for the month, the word sectarian was never out of the daily Top 20 list of most frequently looked-up words in the last week of February. The reason? Daily reports about the upswing in sectarian violence in Iraq.

Read on for more about sectarian.

Happy 47th Birthday

Mattel's trademarked Barbie doll debuted on March 9, 1959. That best-selling cultural icon isn't the only thing turning 47 this year; we collected a few other pop culture terms that also date to 1959.

For a list of all 172 terms whose earliest known print appearance is 1959, click on Advanced Search. Enter 1959 in the Date field, then click Search.

New Word Watch

Merriam-Webster editors are giving the following words serious consideration for entry in a Merriam-Webster dictionary:

• glycemic index noun : a measure of the rate at which ingested food causes the level of glucose in the blood to rise; also : a ranking of foods according to the glycemic index
• mouse potato noun [after couch potato] slang : a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer
• soul patch noun : a small growth of beard under a man's lower lip

Do you have a suggestion for a word we should be watching for? E-mail us at comments@word.com, and we'll tell you what we have on that word so far.

Word Profile: fungible

The February 19 Dilbert cartoon, which joked about the word fungible, sent that word skyrocketing into the position of 6th most-looked-up-word by the end of February. Click here for more on the word that Dilbert doesn't understand.

Notable and Quotable

March 6 marks the birthday of the 19th-century poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. An author's search under the name Browning turns up 163 instances of words used in context in the Unabridged. Eighteen of those citations are credited to Elizabeth Barrett Browning; almost all the others are attributed to her husband, Robert Browning.

Remember, finding quotations from an author is easy. Just choose your reference—the Unabridged Dictionary or the Collegiate—and click on Advanced Search. Type the last name of the author in the Author Quoted box and click on Search.

Just Foolin' Around

You can take note of Women's History Month by researching some of the dozens of terms that refer to female versions of male titles, such as danseuse, administratrix, and interlocutress.

To get started, select the Unabridged as your reference and click on Advanced Search. Type woman in Definition, feminine in Etymology, and noun in Function; then click Search. Read on to see the results.

From the Mail Server

The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is held March 24–26; coincidentally, we received an email last month with the subject line A 5-Letter Word That Means... and another note questioning the validity of a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle. And as the planting season gets under way, the editors fielded a question of interest to gardeners.

If you have a question for the editors, do what other word lovers do: send it to comments@word.com.

Language Links

Ready to keep celebrating the wearin' o' the green? Why not teach yourself a wee bit of Irish? Click here to find out how.

Puzzle Corner

Last month we passed along a parlor game of definitions: define a word by answering a question. We gave a few examples then invited readers to submit their best efforts to three questions. Read on to see some of our favorite responses from readers ... and to get your next assignment.