January Top Twenty

January saw vocabulary curiosity sparked by the biggest movie ever (Avatar) and the most popular social networking Web site (Facebook). The word avatar was among the most looked-up words for the whole month, and Facebook's fun photo game of find-your-celebrity-lookalike brought doppelganger (it's the Word History topic of the month) into the top twenty.

Happy Birthday 1926

Black History Month (originally Negro History Week) dates back to the second week of February 1926. What was the state of the English language when Dr. Carter Woodson founded his celebration week? Lexicographers count 469 terms that first appeared in print that year, and looking at a few can paint a picture of the world as it was back then.

Interested in looking at all the words whose first print appearance dates to a particular year? Choose the Collegiate as your Reference; click on Date from the pull-down Search Type menu, type in the year and click on Search.

Word History of the Month: doppelganger

Facebook fans did a double take (or two) when their friends' pictures were replaced by similar looking celebrities' pictures late last month. Facebook's "Doppelganger Week" pushed doppelganger into the #19 position for January.

Notable and Quotable: Amy Lowell

American poet and critic Amy Lowell, born February 9, 1874, was not the only writer in the family (poets Robert and James Russell were kin) but her quotations make up the majority of the entries (71 of 129) found under the author's search for "Lowell" in the Unabridged. Her poetry is recognized for its imagery, its vitality, and its opulence. Check out the colorful examples.

Interested in seeing all the examples of a particular writer? Select the Collegiate or the Unabridged as your reference, click on Advanced Search, type in the surname of the writer in the Author box, and click on Search.

Report from the Open Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary invites language watchers to pass along new or specialized words (or old words with new meanings) that have not yet made it into a standard print or online dictionary. This month’s submissions focused on the passing of the century’s first decade, news events in China, and the chilly, chilly weather. Decide for yourself if any of these recent contributions will catch on.

Do you know a word that ought to be considered for inclusion in the dictionary? Submit your word at the Submit an Entry page.

From the Mail Server

This month, correspondents got all technical with their curiosity. Our editors field one question about a symbol familiar to those working out the numbers, another about a symbolic name for filling gaps, and a third about the business of making alcoholic drinks.

In Case You Were Wondering

The term proselytize jumped into the Top Twenty for a few days last month, following Brit Hume's public advice to Tiger Woods. The conservative commentator advised the philandering Buddhist golfer to turn to Christianity.

The use of the verb proselytize doesn't attract criticism from linguistic conservatives these days. But it's part of a class of verbs that has been subject to the scorn of language mavens for ages. In particular, jeopardize (in the 19th century) and finalize (in the 20th) have irritated some writers.

Just Foolin' Around

Last month, Senator John McCain's 2008 campaign aide Steve Schmidt described Sarah Palin as "very calm—nonplussed" when she first got the news that she had been tapped as McCain's choice for vice president. People puzzled by that description made nonplussed one of the most looked-up words in the Online Dictionary for a couple of days.

Was Palin peaceful, as the context of the quotation implies, or perplexed, which is the generally accepted meaning of nonplussed? This confusion may be the result of a kind of sense drift: a word was used to mean something other than what the dictionary says it means.