27 December 2005

Words that should be

Merriam-Webster, that duo in dictionaries, has acknowledged that people often use words that, well, aren't really words. Because of this, they have begun their online Open Dictionary, a place where W.N.s can submit words in from their lexicon and provide a definition.

What kind of words are these, you ask?
Try diabological: (adj) logical, but devilish or evil in concept
or
juxtalogue: (noun) a word pair in which one of the words is used exclusively or almost exclusively with the other word. Ex, halcyon days, scantilly clad.
or
twired (adj) the feeling one gets after drinking caffeine late at night.

Do you have a word that you think Merriam-Webster needs to know about? Submit it and let Word Nerd know so the appropriate links can be posted.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm submitting my word. And we all know it should be published: semi-ly.

Definition: So-so. Or kind of.

Used in a sentence: "I semi-ly don't want to go to work today."

or, when I first invented it:

Q: "Is it still raining outside?"

A: "Semi-ly."