So how does a word get added to the dictionary?

We look up words in the dictionary all the time, through google search or in a book, but how did that word get there and who wrote it’s definition.

Merriam-Webster has published their process of adding words the dictionary for us to discuss.

When a new word enters the realm of a dictionary editor’s readings, they make a folder for it and they begin the long process of collecting all the places they can find that use this word. They are collecting citations of instances where the word has been used. The goal of these citations being to demonstrate three things: “frequent use, widespread use, and meaningful use” (“How does a word get in the Dictionary”).

The main goal of the dictionary is to document the changes in the language and aid in the communication of people. This is done by constantly adding words to the dictionary and updating definitions to older words. This is where Merriam-Webster’s criteria come in.

In the age of technology, new words are in constant flow, with changing definitions and varying degrees of popularity. To differentiate between a fad and a word that has become integrated into our language, the dictionary created the criteria stated above. The word must be used over a sustained period of time by a variety of people from different paths of life. This is to demonstrate both frequent and widespread use. The citation list demonstrates this by the variety of sources that the editors add which demonstrate the people and places who use this word the most. The citations are also there to aid in the final criteria: meaningful use. The word must be used in all the citations in a similar way. This not only demonstrates that there is a define consensus among the people on what the word means but it will also aid the editors when they go to write the final definition which is what we see when we look up a word.

This is all to point out that the general purpose of the dictionary is to track and represent the changes in the language that are happening and what the words mean to the people using them today.

The dictionary and it’s writers watch us, the users of the language. We influence what goes into the dictionary not the other way around.

Further questions to think about on this topic:

•How do the personal views of an editor on a word affect the final definition of the word that we see in the dictionary?

•What criteria is needed to meet the widespread use portion getting a word in the dictionary? Who determines what widespread use means?

•Should words that may be a “fad” still be added to the dictionary? They are words after all, in the moment their use is meaningful. If the only thing the word does not have is long term use is that enough to keep it out of the dictionary?