January TOP TWENTY

January's list of the most frequently looked-up words at the Merriam-Webster Online Web site has plenty of familiar faces at the top of the list, but a few new and returning visitors further down. See how this year got off to a fresh start.

Happy Birthday: 1868

Civil rights activist, scholar, educator, and writer William Edward Burghardt DuBois was born February 23, 1868. To note the occasion, we look at some of the words that entered the language in 1868.

For a complete list of all 218 words that first appeared in print in 1868, select the Collegiate as your reference, then click on Advanced Search. Type 1868 into the Date field and click on Search.

Word History of the Month: epiphany

Epiphany is always a frequently looked-up word, but it placed particularly high this month. We guess that the religious Feast of the Epiphany on January 6 had something to do with that, so this month we'll tell the story.

New Word Watch

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

*  gray literature noun : written material (as a report) that is not commercially or is not generally accessible

*  microgreen noun : a shoot of a standard salad plant (as celery or arugula)

*  snowboardcross noun [snowboard + -cross (as in motorcross)] : a snowboard race that includes jumps and turns

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.

Notable and Quotable: W.H. Auden

February 21 is the birth centennial of critic and poet Wystan Hugh Auden, considered to be one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. Quotations from Auden appear in more than 30 entries in the Unabridged. We've picked out an even dozen; three of them are words now labeled archaic, but all have the ring of the poet.

It's easy to check on writers whose words are quoted in the dictionary. Choose your reference, then click on Advanced Search. Type the last name of the author in the Authors Quoted field, and click on Search.

Just Foolin' Around

February is the perfect time to fool around with terms of love. By typing love into both the Definition and the Etymology fields of the Unabridged Dictionary Advanced Search, you get a list of 39 terms, ranging from agape to Venus. Here are a few of the more delightful terms for the 14th.

From the Mail Server

Over the past month, our editors have warned correspondents to beware the illogic of English, settled the lively question of naming soft drinks, and embraced the issue of inclusion.

In Case You Were Wondering

For whatever reason, plenty of folks looked up quagmire last month. While its meaning is easy to find, the etymology remains suitably murky.

Language Links

February is for staying warm, whether it's with loved ones, by enjoying the great outdoors, or by cranking up the brain and trying out a few new Web sites.