A Dictionary With a Point of View

Announcing Merriam-Webster's Visual Dictionary—the first visual dictionary to incorporate real dictionary definitions

SPRINGFIELD, MASS., July 2006 — You may not be compulsive enough to be considered a bona fide mouse potato (noun slang : a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer), but even casual members of the online community can now grab a sneak peek at the latest crop of new words and phrases to be added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate ^® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition—available in bookstores later this fall.

Merriam-Webster Online, the company's award-winning Web site, has posted a sample of the nearly 100 neologisms that have won entry into the 2006 update of America's best-selling dictionary. Many of these new entries come from the fields of science and technology—mouse potato is joined by ringtone (noun : the sound made by a cell phone to signal an incoming call); spyware (noun : software that is installed in a computer without the user's knowledge and transmits information about the user's computer activities over the Internet); and biodiesel (noun : a fuel that is similar to diesel fuel and is derived from usually vegetable sources). The sample list also reveals new words from pop culture (soul patch), business and industry (agritourism), and medicine (avian influenza). These newest entries join the more than 10,000 new words and meanings introduced when the groundbreaking Eleventh Edition, the first dictionary to combine a print edition with a CD-ROM and online access, launched in July 2003.

Along with the arrival of these new words, this year Merriam-Webster is also celebrating some distinctive old words. The year 2006 marks the bicentennial anniversary of America's first dictionary—Noah Webster's A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. As is true today, a good number of the words introduced in this 1806 volume came from science and technology: caloric, electrician, psychology, and vaccine, along with other now-familiar words like Americanize, chowder, slang, and surf. A glossary can be viewed at http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/reform-glossary.htm, a special "First American Dictionary" commemorative section on Merriam-Webster Online.

Site visitors can also find information on a number of year-long commemorative events, including a nationwide press tour and a spelling bee program for kids and adults. Dates and participating locations can be found at http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/reform-events.htm.

Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
Merriam-Webster Inc. acquired the rights to revise and publish Noah Webster's dictionaries in 1843. Since then, Merriam-Webster has maintained an ongoing commitment to innovation, scholarship, and love of language. Today, the company continues as the leader in both print and electronic language reference publishing with reference products, learning tools, and word games.