December TOP TWENTY

While December was not without big and important news events, the Top Twenty list surprisingly had no news-related vocabulary. We might have anticipated Ponzi scheme to be looked up more frequently in a month with the news about the Madoff scandal. But with the election in the past, and the holidays and winter weather upon us, the most looked-up list shows an interest in what we see as typical words.

Happy Birthday: 1940

In 1940, the U.S. was climbing out of the Depression and into World War II. The first Social Security check was sent in January of 1940. Some of the more than 200 words that first appeared in print in 1940 reflect the economic and martial realities of the time and others reveal a bit about the social climate. See some of the words from 1940 that caught our eye.

Interested in seeing the complete list? Select the Collegiate as the reference, click on Advanced Search, type 1940 in the Date field, and click on Search.

Notable and Quotable: Lord Byron

The biography of George Gordon Byron, the sixth Baron Byron, is familiar. The "mad, bad, and dangerous to know" poet was renowned for his beauty, celebrity, and voluntary exile from his home. He was born January 22, 1788 and died at 36 while fighting for the Greek independence movement. Of the more than six dozen quotations of Lord Byron included in the Unabridged, 18 of them define senses now archaic. See a sampling of the words, currently in use and archaic.

Interested in seeing usage examples from a notable writer? Select the Unabridged and click on Advanced Search. Type the author's last name in the Author field, and click Search.

Just Foolin' Around

André-Marie Ampère was born in January 1775 and James Watt in January 1776. Sure, it's coincidental, but if you're at all interested in terms named for people of science, you might get a charge out of using the Unabridged to discover scientific eponyms this month.

To find more science terms named for individuals, choose either the Unabridged or the Collegiate for your reference, select Etymology from the Search Type drop-down menu, type scientist, physicist, or mathematician into search box, and click Search.

From the Mail Server

Last month, one correspondent sent our editors a question about how to pronounce words in Latin. Another writer was curious about the largest dictionary we've ever published. Finally, a teacher wrote in to ask about the word text being used as a verb.

In Case You Were Wondering

January 1 marks the beginning of a new year, and January 20 marks the inauguration of a new president. In case you were wondering, inauguration marks a beginning with some formality or a beginning that carries some significance. Read on to learn more.

Word in the News

Much to our surprise, Bernard Madoff's sudden notoriety did not push Ponzi scheme to the top of any of our dictionary look-up lists. Madoff is the financial manager whose investors have lost $50 billion in what is said to have been an example of a Ponzi scheme, a term derived from the name of a 20th-century swindler.

Language Links

The British Museum first opened to the public in January 1759. Two hundred fifty years later, the Museum remains dedicated to fostering an international community of inquiry and research. In that spirit, we pass along some links to help you puzzle out the differences between British English and American English.

A very basic British-to-American English comparison is available at English-Zone.com. Or see the comprehensive searchable linguistic corpora of British and American English offered by Brigham Young University (definitions not included). And the CoolSlang.com Web site provides definitions and examples of British slang (and other languages, too) for the English speaker.