November 2007

Report from the Open Dictionary

We're not the only folks on the lookout for new words. Our readers are too. When you notice a new word — on the radio, in a book or magazine, or online — and if you find that it's not found in any dictionary, then it's a good candidate for the Open Dictionary at Merriam-Webster Online, a feature that allows users to submit these discoveries. There are now over 12,000 entries in the Open Dictionary. In this month's newsletter, we share some of our favorite recent submissions.

babymoon (noun) : a short vacation for a couple before the birth of their child
<The appeal of this brief but indulgent experience — known as a babymoon in travel industry parlance — is pure escape.>

blamestorm (verb) : to discuss why a deadline was missed, a project failed, or who is to be blamed or to take responsibility
<The managers spent the meeting blamestorming about the lost contract.>

embed (noun) : an instance or period of a journalist traveling with a military unit; an instance or period of being embedded
<If we're on an embed and we're dealing with these Iraqi forces, they're going to be very careful in what they say.>

e-tailer (noun) : a person or store who sells goods over the Internet
<I love the conveniences of buying items from an e-tailer.>

gription (noun) : ability to secure an object or thing : traction
<Sandy's gloves did not have enough gription to prevent them from slipping away from the steering wheel.>

mocktail (noun) : a non-alcoholic beverage that mimics a cocktail; a virgin drink
<Whenever I am designated driver for the evening, I always order mocktails at the bar.>

searchability (noun) : the ability to be searched upon (as an Internet page)
<We must optimize our Web pages for searchability.>

soygurt (noun) : yogurt made out of soybeans instead of dairy
<My Mom mixes strawberries and bananas with soygurt and sprinkles it with granola.>

vanity sizing (noun) : the practice of setting the sizes of manufactured clothing such that the garment is larger than the established norm for a given size in order to persuade the purchaser that a smaller size is appropriate
<Without vanity sizing I would not be the owner of the only pair of size 6 jeans that I have ever managed to get into.>

webinar (noun) : a seminar offered by a company via the Internet
<Did you attend the electronic sales webinar offered by the company?>

y'alternative also y'allternative (noun) : alternative country music
<The new country music station plays y'alternative.>

Some new words catch on, some don't. It usually takes a few years for a word to enter the language and be used by many people in many different places. The Open Dictionary is the place to record new or specialized words or old words with new meanings. We welcome your contributions — simply click here to add a word or to see what's new in the world of words.


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