play backward index mystery
Words Matter

The True Story of the Backward Index

These people needed a computer


There it sits, hidden in plain view on a set of shelves in the basement of the Merriam-Webster offices: the Backward Index. But why would anyone type out 315,000 words spelled in reverse?

Up next

play backward index mystery
The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer

play video websters video of 1864
Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

play image1815466723
How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

 

And is one way more correct than the others?

play video schwa
The Schwa

 

The most common vowel sound in English causes many spelling problems.

play contractions
On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

play videos pictures in the dictionary
Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.