It is that time of year again—time to unveil the latest new words and senses added to Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition and Merriam-Webster Online. Many of the new words
reflect the importance of the environment (carbon footprint, green-collar), government activities (earmark,
waterboarding), health and medicine (cardioprotective, locavore, naproxen, neuroprotective), pop culture
(docusoap, fan fiction, flash mob, reggaeton), and online activities (sock puppet, vlog, webisode).
Other words added include haram, memory foam, missalette, and zip line. Click through for a sampling
of new words for 2009, along with links to definitions.
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Merriam-Webster Editor at Large Peter Sokolowski offers up daily dispatches on new words,
etymology and more. Read his tweets about the latest happenings at Merriam-Webster and the wider world of lexicography
and linguistics—and enjoy a few personal observations and insights along the way.
Visit Peter's Twitter page and follow along today.
Merriam-Webster and Paragon Software now offer an array of dictionaries as
downloadable applications for your iPhone or iPod Touch. Take world-class references—like Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, Merriam-Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary,
and Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary—with you when you are on the go. Browse all available
titles in the Online Store.
Congratulations to 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion Kavya Shivashankar, from
Olathe, Kansas. The 13-year-old outlasted a wonderfully competitive field by correctly spelling winning word
Laodicean—a word meaning lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics. Merriam-Webster
was once again proud to sponsor such a fantastic event, and reminds you to keep your spelling skills sharp
year-round at Merriam-Webster Online's Spelling Bee Hive.
Look up words instantly while browsing anywhere on the web.
