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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?

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play backward index mystery
The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer

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How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

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Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

 

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

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Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

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Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

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What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

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Fun, Funner, Funnest

 

Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'