APRIL Top Twenty

The news of the swine flu outbreak caught the attention of dictionary users last month, as pandemic shot to the top of the list as the most looked-up word for April. Some old friends are on the list too, as well as a few others from the news. For example, even swine broke into April's Top Twenty.

Word Profile

Last month officials at the World Health Organization raised the swine flu alert to Phase 5, meaning "pandemic is imminent." We'll leave the health coverage to the experts, but usage commentators have something to add to this story, specifically about the word imminent.

Notable and Quotable: Archibald MacLeish

Archibald MacLeish was born May 7, 1892 and died less than a month before his 90th birthday. The American poet, dramatist, and three-time Pulitzer prize-winner was deeply involved in public life, helping to organize UNESCO and serving as Librarian of Congress. Quotations from MacLeish found in the Unabridged Dictionary paint a vivid picture of 20th century life.

Finding quotations from a particular author in the dictionary is easy. Select the Unabridged and click on Advanced Search. Type the author's last name in the Author field, and click Search.

Report from the Open Dictionary

With summer holidays around the corner, Americans still worried about the economy have some new words to use when describing their situation. Decide for yourself if these new coinages will have the lasting power to earn a spot in the dictionary. Or, submit your own new or specialized words to Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary.

From the Mail Server

Editors fielded questions this month from writers seeking just the right word to express the opposite of accumulation; they also addressed what might be described as an ancient etymological urban legend. Finally, editors answered an innocuous question from someone keeping an eye on etymology.

Beyond the Dictionary

Known variously as Mexican flu, North American flu and H1N1 influenza, the disease in the U. S. is most commonly known as swine flu. No matter what you call it, it's important to get a good medical definition of the illness.

In Case You Were Wondering

Late last month, concern about swine flu helped boost pandemic to the top of the charts for the second time in less than five years (pandemic was at the top of the list in November 2005 and remained a highly looked-up word through June 2006). We thought it would be helpful to revisit the semantic distinctions between pandemic, epidemic, and outbreak, and to give an explanation of endemic.

Words in the News

In the summer of 2006, President Bush's use of the word fascist when describing terrorists sent folks looking up that word's meaning in our online dictionary. This month, conservative commentators described President Obama's policies as "economic fascism", and again look-ups of the word soared. We turn to another reference to reveal modern applications of fascism and also to pass along a tidbit about the coinage of the related term totalitarianism.