February TOP TWENTY

Valentine's Day didn't pass unnoticed by users of Merriam-Webster's online dictionaries. Love jumped to the number three spot, edging out cantankerous and apathetic for at least the appearance of a victory for romance.

But the real story is that politic (and not politics) was the most looked-up word in February. Words from the presidential campaign that showed short flashes of interest this month include valedictory, denounce, and reject, and here's February's Top Twenty list.

Happy Birthday: 1933

On March 12, 1933, the newly inaugurated President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the first of his national Fireside Chats. The Great Depression was upon the land, and FDR had plenty to say to comfort and encourage Americans. 1933 was the year 182 new words were first spotted in print (including these 16).

Interested in viewing the full list? It's easy. Select the Collegiate as your Reference, click on Advanced Search, type 1933 into the Date field and click on Search.

Word History of the Month: Ides

Thanks to William Shakespeare, generations have remembered the soothsayer's warning to Julius Caesar: "Beware the Ides of March!" We'd guess that few of us moderns recall precisely what the Ides are, however.

Notable and Quotable: Ring Lardner

Born on March 6, 1885, humorist Ring Lardner was known for short stories and sports writing, and he was widely admired for his keen ear for the vernacular. He died young, before the age of 50, but he left his mark in multiple citations in the Unabridged Dictionary.

Interested in finding all 56 entries credited to writers named Lardner? It's easy. Choose the Unabridged as your reference and click on Advanced Search. Type Lardner in the Author field and click Search. The 39 Lardner citations that don't trace to Ring are divided up among Ring Lardner's sons and other relatives from this literary family.

From the Mail Server

The March winds continue to blow politics across the editorial desk. The editors faced one question head-on about staying the course and dodged a bit on the question of whether we shall stay the course on the spelling of Web site. But March is also the month for a wee bit of Gaelic . . . admittedly, Scottish Gaelic, but we won't tell.

In Case You Were Wondering

Political talk moved a couple of words onto the most looked-up list this month. That's not so unusual — and we suspect we'll see many more political words in the next eight months. What's different this time is that it seems to have started with a presidential-hopeful vocabulary lesson of sorts about denounce and reject.

Words in the News

Hillary Clinton's closing words in the Feb 21, 2008 Democratic debate — in which she said that whatever happens in the future, she was honored to be with Barack Obama — inspired many commentators to apply the word valedictory to her statement. Over the next few days, news-watchers clicked on valedictory, enough to boost that word into the top 100 for the month.

Language Links

Each March, for the past 11 years, the National Education Association has sponsored Read Across America Day. Its goal: to inspire children to read. Need a little inspiration? The Web is rich in book lists for everyone, from the youngest reader to the retiree looking to catch up on what he or she might have missed.