December Top TWENTY

A blockbuster from Hollywood was also a vocabulary blockbuster for December: avatar was the most looked-up word in the Online Dictionary. Tiger Woods's use of the word transgressions made it the subject of nearly as much curiosity as the famous golfer's private life – probably because it was one of the few clues given to the public on the matter. The word prosperous was looked up with increasing frequency toward the end of the month, coming in at #1 on New Year's Day itself. Here's the full list.

Happy Birthday 1920

Prohibition – the banning of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol for consumption – took effect nationwide in the United States on January 16, 1920. That "Noble Experiment," as Herbert Hoover called it, lasted nearly 14 years, until it was repealed by passage of the 21st Amendment in December 1933.

Of the 242 words that first saw print the same year Prohibition began, only a few concern alcohol; others take to the skies to describe the new world of aeronautics. Still others paint a picture of the world of politics and finance as we headed toward the Great Depression.

Notable & Quotable: Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf was born January 25, 1882. The British essayist, novelist, critic, and publisher is remembered for her feminist classic A Room of One's Own, her participation in the influential Bloomsbury Group, and – by lexicographers – for her lively and apt way with words.

Interested in words used as illustrations by another writer? Select either the Unabridged or the Collegiate as your reference, click on Advanced Search, type the last name in the Author Quoted box, then click on Search.

Words in the News

After President Obama declared Congress was "on the precipice" of passing legislation to reform the nation's health care, the term precipice teetered at 90th place on last month's Most Looked Up List. The 17th century coinage precipice comes from the Latin word for headlong (prae means before and caput means head). The original (now obsolete) meaning of precipice named a "sudden or headlong fall."

Defining Practice

Which words are the most difficult to define? Are definitions that need to be altered or revised faulty definitions? Do controversial words get special treatment in the dictionary? In short, what words are the hardest to define? These questions get to the heart of the day-to-day work of a lexicographer. Here's a look behind the scenes into the decisions that make up an important part of the process of writing a definition.

Word History of the Month: avatar

Last month's worldwide premiere of the sci-fi epic Avatar sent plenty of folks to the theaters to watch director James Cameron's latest blockbuster, and it also sent avatar to the number one spot on the Top Twenty list of monthly online dictionary lookups.

The concept of the avatar has been around for centuries. Avatar traces to the Sanskrit word for descent; in Hinduism it usually refers to one of the ten forms (human or animal) the god Vishnu assumes when he descends to earth to combat evil.

From the Mail Server

Last month our editors heard from one correspondent who found it fishy that salmon and salmonella don't sound more similar and from another correspondent seeking help with the admittedly difficult notion of applying function labels to here and now.

Language Links

With the page finally turned on 2009, language lovers (including those at Merriam-Webster) announced the word or phrase that best represents the year just ended.

Then there are the words of the decade: Slate's Ron Rosenbaum presented one overview of catchphrases of the decade, while members of the American Dialect Society, which claims to be the "longest-running vote of its kind in the Anglophone world" voted on both the Word of the Year and the Word of the Decade.

Finally, there are those words that annoy. Every year since 1976, Michigan's Lake Superior State University has released its helpful recommendation, a List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.