Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes
reference books
A reference work is a work, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually ''referred'' to f ...
and is especially known for its
dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States.
In 1831,
George and Charles Merriam founded the company as G & C Merriam Co. in
Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1843, after
Noah Webster
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
died, the company bought the rights to ''
An American Dictionary of the English Language
''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...
'' from Webster's estate. All Merriam-Webster dictionaries trace their lineage to this source.
In 1964,
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. is a British-American company known for publishing the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the world's oldest continuously published encyclopaedia, as well as extensive digital efforts—including text and audiovisual ...
acquired Merriam-Webster, Inc. as a subsidiary. The company adopted its current name in 1982.
History
Noah Webster
In 1806, Webster published his first dictionary,
''A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language''. In 1807 Webster started two decades of intensive work to expand his publication into a fully comprehensive dictionary, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language''. To help him trace the etymology of words, Webster learned 26 languages. Webster hoped to standardize American speech, since Americans in different parts of the country used somewhat different vocabularies and spelled, pronounced, and used words differently.
Webster completed his dictionary during his year abroad in 1825 in Paris, and at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. His 1820s book contained 70,000 words, of which about 12,000 had never appeared in a dictionary before. As a
spelling reform
A spelling reform is a deliberate, often authoritatively sanctioned or mandated change to spelling rules. Proposals for such reform are fairly common, and over the years, many languages have undergone such reforms. Recent high-profile examples ar ...
er, Webster believed that English spelling rules were unnecessarily complex, so his dictionary introduced
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
spellings, replacing ''colour'' with ''color'', ''waggon'' with ''wagon'', and ''centre'' with ''center''. He also added American words, including ''
skunk'' and ''
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
'', that did not appear in British dictionaries. At the age of 70 in 1828, Webster published his dictionary; it sold poorly, with only 2,500 copies, and put him in debt. However, in 1840, he published the second edition in two volumes with much greater success.
Merriam as publisher
In 1843, after Webster's death,
George Merriam
George Merriam (; January 20, 1803 – June 22, 1880) was an American publisher. With his brother Charles, he founded G. and C. Merriam, which would eventually become Merriam-Webster, Inc.
The Merriam family were printers, book manufacturers, ...
and Charles Merriam secured publishing and revision rights to the 1840 edition of the dictionary. They published a revision in 1847, which did not change any of the main text but merely added new sections, and a second update with illustrations in 1859. In 1864, Merriam published a greatly expanded edition, which was the first version to change Webster's text, largely overhauling his work yet retaining many of his definitions and the title "''An American Dictionary''. This began a series of revisions that were described as being "unabridged" in content. In 1884 it contained 118,000 words, "3000 more than any other English dictionary".
With the edition of 1890, the dictionary was retitled ''Webster's International''. The vocabulary was vastly expanded in ''Webster's New International'' editions of 1909 and 1934, totaling over half a million words, with the 1934 edition retrospectively called ''Webster's Second International'' or simply "The Second Edition" of the New International.
![Collegiate Dictionary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Collegiate_Dictionary.jpg)
The ''Collegiate Dictionary'' was introduced in 1898 and the series is now in its eleventh edition. Following the publication of ''Webster's International'' in 1890, two ''Collegiate'' editions were issued as abridgments of each of their ''Unabridged'' editions. Merriam overhauled the dictionary again with the 1961 ''
Webster's Third New International'' under the direction of
Philip B. Gove, making changes that sparked public controversy. Many of these changes were in formatting, omitting needless
punctuation
Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. An ...
, or avoiding complete sentences when a phrase was sufficient. Others, more controversial, signaled a shift from
linguistic prescriptivism
Linguistic prescription, or prescriptive grammar, is the establishment of rules defining preferred usage of language. These rules may address such linguistic aspects as spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics. Sometimes i ...
and towards describing American English as it was used at that time.
With the ninth edition (''Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary'' (WNNCD), published in 1983), the ''Collegiate'' adopted changes which distinguish it as a separate entity rather than merely an abridgment of the ''Third New International'' (the main text of which has remained virtually unrevised since 1961). Some proper names were returned to the word list, including names of
Knights of the Round Table. The most notable change was the inclusion of the date of the first known citation of each word, to document its entry into the English language. The eleventh edition (published in 2003) includes more than 225,000 definitions, and more than 165,000 entries. A
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
of the text is sometimes included. This dictionary is preferred as a source "for general matters of spelling" by the influential ''
The Chicago Manual of Style
''The Chicago Manual of Style'' (abbreviated in writing as ''CMOS'' or ''CMS'', or sometimes as ''Chicago'') is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its 17 editions have prescribed writi ...
'', which is followed by many book publishers and magazines in the United States. The ''Chicago Manual'' states that it "normally opts for" the first spelling listed.
The G. & C. Merriam Company lost its right to exclusive use of the name "Webster" after a series of lawsuits placed that name in
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
. Its name was changed to "Merriam-Webster, Incorporated", with the publication of ''Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary'' in 1983. Previous publications had used "A Merriam-Webster Dictionary" as a subtitle for many years and will be found on older editions.
Since the 1940s, the company has added many specialized dictionaries, language aides, and other references to its repertoire. The company has been a subsidiary of
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. is a British-American company known for publishing the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the world's oldest continuously published encyclopaedia, as well as extensive digital efforts—including text and audiovisual ...
since 1964.
The dictionary maintains an active social media presence, where it frequently posts dictionary related content as well as its takes on politics. Its
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account has frequently used dictionary jargon to criticize and lampoon the
Trump administration
Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...
. In one viral tweet, Merriam Webster subtly accused
Kyle Rittenhouse
Kyle Howard Rittenhouse (born January 3, 2003) is an American known for shooting three men, two fatally, during the civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020 when he was 17 years old. At his trial in November 2021, a jury found Ritten ...
of fake crying at his trial.
Services
In 1996, Merriam-Webster launched its first website, which provided free access to an online dictionary and
thesaurus
A thesaurus (plural ''thesauri'' or ''thesauruses'') or synonym dictionary is a reference work for finding synonyms and sometimes antonyms of words. They are often used by writers to help find the best word to express an idea:
Synonym dictionar ...
.
Merriam-Webster has also published dictionaries of
synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
,
English usage
Linguistic prescription, or prescriptive grammar, is the establishment of rules defining preferred usage of language. These rules may address such linguistic aspects as spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics. Sometimes infor ...
,
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
(''
Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary
''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary'' (''Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', ''Webster's New Geographical Dictionary'') is a gazetteer by the publisher Merriam-Webster. The latest edition was released in 2001, edited by Daniel J. Hopkins ...
''),
biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
,
proper names
A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
,
medical terms
Medical terminology is a language used to precisely describe the human body including all its components, processes, conditions affecting it, and procedures performed upon it. Medical terminology is used in the field of medicine
Medical terminolog ...
,
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
terms,
slang
Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-g ...
, Spanish/English, and numerous others. Non-dictionary publications include ''Collegiate Thesaurus'', ''Secretarial Handbook'', ''Manual for Writers and Editors'', ''Collegiate Encyclopedia'', ''Encyclopedia of Literature'', and ''Encyclopedia of World Religions''.
On February 16, 2007, Merriam-Webster announced the launch of a mobile dictionary and
thesaurus
A thesaurus (plural ''thesauri'' or ''thesauruses'') or synonym dictionary is a reference work for finding synonyms and sometimes antonyms of words. They are often used by writers to help find the best word to express an idea:
Synonym dictionar ...
service developed with mobile search-and-information provider
AskMeNow. Consumers use the service to access definitions, spelling and synonyms via
text message
Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/ laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...
. Services also include Merriam-Webster's ''Word of the Day''—and ''Open Dictionary'', a
wiki
A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pu ...
service that provides subscribers the opportunity to create and submit their own new words and definitions.
Pronunciation guides
The Merriam-Webster company once used a unique set of
phonetic symbols in their dictionaries—intended to help people from different parts of the United States learn how to pronounce words the same way as others who spoke with the same accent or dialect did.
Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, wh ...
accommodated
IPA
IPA commonly refers to:
* India pale ale, a style of beer
* International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation
* Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound
IPA may also refer to:
Organizations International
* Insolvency Practitioners ...
symbols from Unicode version 1.1 published in 1993, but did not support the phonetic symbols specific to Merriam-Webster dictionaries until Unicode version 4.0 published in 2003. Hence, to enable computerized access to the pronunciation without having to rework all dictionaries to IPA notation, the online services of Merriam-Webster specify phonetics using a less-specific set of
ASCII
ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because of ...
characters.
Writing entries
Merriam creates entries by finding uses of a particular word in print and recording them in a database of ''citations''.
Editors at Merriam spend about an hour a day looking at print sources, from books and newspapers to less formal publications, like advertisements and product packaging, to study the uses of individual words and choose things that should be preserved in the citation file. Merriam-Webster's citation file contains more than 16 million entries documenting individual uses of words. Millions of these citations are recorded on
3-by-5 cards in their paper citation files. The earliest entries in the paper citation files date back to the late 19th century. Since 2009, all new entries are recorded in an electronic database.
See also
*
Kory Stamper
Kory Stamper is a lexicographer and former associate editor for the Merriam-Webster family of dictionaries. She is the author of ''Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries'' (Pantheon, 2017).
Early life
Stamper grew up in Colorado. She att ...
, noted lexicographer/editor/social media personality at Merriam-Webster
*
Lists of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year
The lists of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year (for each year) are ten-word lists published annually by the American dictionary-publishing company Merriam-Webster, Inc., which feature the ten words of the year from the English language. These wo ...
* ''
Webster's Dictionary
''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...
''
* ''
Webster's Third New International Dictionary
''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (commonly known as ''Webster's Third'', or ''W3'') was published in September 1961. It was edited by Philip Babcock Gove and a team of lexicographers who spent 757 ...
''
References
External links
Merriam-Webster Online
{{Authority control
Book publishing companies of the United States
Companies based in Springfield, Massachusetts
Online English dictionaries
Webby Award winners
Reference publishers
Publishing companies established in 1831