Happy Dictionary Day 2016!

Noah Webster, considered the Father of the American Dictionary, was born on October 16, 1758. That day is now marked as National Dictionary Day.

Roald Dahl and the OED

This week at Copyediting.com, I wrote about the recent update announcement from the Oxford English Dictionary and its honoring of Roald Dahl's linguistic legacy on his hundredth birthday.

The OED Honors Roald Dahl

Last week, the Oxford English Dictionary honored children's
author Roald Dahl in its quarterly update.

I'm rather excited to see scrumdiddlyumptious appear in a dictionary, though I assume it will be some time before Word's spell-checker will recognize it. Guess I'll have to add it myself, because I plan on using it often.

And the Word of the Year Is(m)...

The lexicographers at Merriam-Webster dictionaries have named their 2015 Word of the Year, and it's not an entire word. It's the suffix -ism.

M-W's WOTY choices are driven by data about what people look up on the Merriam-Webster website and in their dictionary app. This year, seven of the top lookups end in -ism, leading them to bestow WOTY status on this little suffix.

Read more about it at Copyediting.com.

Kory Stamper's Proof of the Dictionary

Today you get a wonderful post by my favorite lexicographer, Kory Stamper, who since 1998 has spent her days at Merriam-Webster telling people she'll never meet what things really mean. Most recently, she’s gained some notoriety for being one of three editors who write, edit, and appear in the “Ask the Editor” video series. She also travels around the country as a representative for Merriam-Webster, occasionally giving talks and lectures on things that only other word nerds would be interested in.

She's the Tina Fey of lexicography.

You might see her professional work every day you open a dictionary, but for a more personal look at who she is, what she does, and how much she hates particular letters of the alphabet, you need to read her blog, harm•less drudg•ery and/or follower her on Twitter at @KoryStamper.

The Charmless Drudgery of Answering Dictionary Correspondence

I am horrifically busy this week and have little time to work on anything personal, this blog included. But I don't want to leave my readers out in the cold this week, so I'll let someone else do my infotaining for me.

Check out lexicographer Kory Stamper's post "Dear Merriam-Webster" about why, if you're writing to the editors of a dictionary, you should start and end the letter with "I love you" and should include a coupon for free chocolate . . . or at least a cute lolcat picture.

At least, that's how I read it.