Proper use of whom and who

baby development chart in whom

a person whom who respect

whom can you trust

whom to inform when emigrating uk

when to use who and whom

summary for whom the bell tolls

canibus for whom the beat tolls

metallica from whom the bells told

to whom it may concern letters

maria mclena patron saint of whom

to whom did solomon write ecclesiastes

to whom it concerns

whom god calls he equips

grammar who whom

lyrics to whom the bells toll

to whom are teachers accountable

whom invente

whom am i song

whom radio station

to whom the bell tolls

whom do you lov

mary martin whom married alexander cunningham

poem for whom the bell tolls

whom shall i fear lead sheet

define whom

resignation letter to whom

when to use who or whom

king tut artifacts belong to whom

in whom is executive power vested

metallica for whom my bell

by whom it was invented

whom over concern

whom wednesday was named for

not going to tell you whom

whom who

pennsylvania was settled by whom

to whom who

whom should attend a eeo mediation

whom do you serve

Summer Top Twenty

It was a long, hot summer – and one very rich in vocabulary! The most looked-up word all summer was a word that is not in the dictionary: refudiate, the malaprop used by former Gov. Sarah Palin on television and Twitter. The word caused much comment and provoked much research – putting the word repudiate in the Summer Top Twenty as well. Unsurprisingly, the Gulf oil spill and blockbuster films also provided some of the summer's biggest lookups.

Word History of the Month: conundrum

The word conundrum is a perennial on the Top 20 list – including this summer's list. Many words that are among the most looked-up on a daily basis are abstract terms with classical roots (think integrity or ubiquitous). Conundrum would seem to fit right in with them. But does it? Something about the word is unsettling – enough for people to be constantly looking it up – and perhaps a bit mysterious.

Notable and Quotable: D.H. Lawrence

D.H. Lawrence was born September 11, 1885. Long troubled by ill health, the poet, critic, and novelist (Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Sons and Lovers) died at 44. Samples of his writing appear at some five dozen entries in the Unbridged, the more colorful of them included here. (When was the last time you encountered "everywhere" used as a noun?).

Interested in seeing all the examples of a particular writer? Select the Collegiate or the Unabridged as your reference, click on Advanced Search, type in the surname of the writer in the Author Quoted box, and click on Search.

to whom is a corporation responsible

who whom

for whom to produce

with whom then should i sleep

fax for whom intended

whom did man originate from

the disciple whom jesus loved

medicare administered by whom

lori robinson black like whom

for whom was fort sumter named

for whom the bells tolls

whom had influenced walt whitman

annette bening is married to whom

i have a dream said whom

those whom the gods destroy mad

who whom grammar

grammer rules who whom

for whom do we pray

to whom is the declaration addressed

in him in christ in whom

use of of whom

he whom noble love singles out

whom was buckingham palace built

know before whom you stand

whom did ralph bunche influence

to whom it may concern letter

use of who and whom

who whom rule

for whom bell tolls

whom pocohantas married

usage who whom

whom jezebel worshipped

for whom the bell tolls film

whom is affected by salinity

949 whom

whom does presidents day recognize

hope whom am i to say

he whom much has been given

for whom shall i be afraid

From the Mail Server

This month, editors heard from someone zealous about the need to add a new word to the lexicon, from another person looking for the rich story behind the word cheapskate, and from a set of correspondents eager to understand the rule that distinguishes vowels from consonants.

Happy Birthday 1666

the blessed martyr from whom

for whom the tony is named

whom as conjunction

whom discovered a dvd player

to whom is singer gennarose married

whom to turn a pharmacist into

pablo for whom the bell tolls

to whom a phone number belongs

whom usage

who owns whom

those whom god calls he equips

for whom did dwight gooden play

for whom the bell toles

attachment theory by whom

for whom the bell tolls metallica

who or whom

grammer who or whom

talking with whom sanatan

cannibus for whom the beat tolls

proper use of whom

report cyber thieves to whom

from whom does writers write

all of whom are my

what does whom mean

the shinigami whom ganju met recap

to whom a may concern letter

who pays the deductible to whom

for whom the bell tolls forum

stages of baby in the whom

whom shall i fear

gweneth paltrow in conflict with whom

to whom was euclid a mentor

inflation whom should be blamed

to whom is billy joel married

who fighting with whom on smallville

americana sung by whom

choose today whom you will serve

for whom the beat tolls

whom was valentines day named after

The Great Fire of London began raging on September 2, 1666. By the time the fire ended three days later, St. Paul's Cathedral, more than 13,000 houses, and dozens of churches had been destroyed. A new London (with less wood) arose from the ashes.

the guy whom invented base-ball

corporate campaigns were invented by whom

whom the bell tolls

whom the gods would destroy

mark anthony is married to whom

sermon on whom the lord bless

people whom visited hell

woody harrelson married whom

to whom it may concern

and whom setscrew

to whom did the japanese surrender

reema kapoor is married to whom

correct use of who and whom

sharron davies married and to whom

for whom the bell tolls liquor

2 whom this may concern

lord to whom our prayers ascend

before him whom he believed romans

just who is assimilating with whom

whom owns combustion engineering

to whom much is given

some of whom have

star trek episode whom gods destroy

whom we must shoot egypt

independance from whom

to whom

1979 associated with whom

94.9 fm whom

in whom we have redemption

word whom whackdown

for whom was maryland named

to whom the gods love

that who whom

bbc the company for whom the

whom found switzerland

when to use whom and who

whom inefficient

peoms whom you care about

who whom correct usage

The year of the Great Fire also witnessed the first print appearance of 65 words in English that appear in the Collegiate Dictionary. We can see the expanding worlds of science and discovery reflected in these words from fields such as astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.

Interested in seeing all 65 words that first appeared in print in 1666? Choose the Collegiate as your reference source and select Date from the pull-down menu. Type in the date and click on Search.

Words in the News

Sarah Palin sent this message out on Twitter on July 18: "Ground Zero mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate." This sent refudiate to the top of the Top Twenty for the summer.

Why the buzz? For starters, refudiate is not (yet) in the dictionary. Then there was the controversy over subsequent tweets from Gov. Palin, first changing refudiate to repudiate, and then defending her coinage, invoking Shakespeare: "English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!"

example to whom it may concern

whole burnt offering to whom

chris andrews to whom in concerns

grammar who versus whom

dayton ohio is named for whom

dylan thomas influenced whom

five of whom have fallen

scorpio are attracted to whom

whom the gods love

for whom the woodbine twineth

who and whom

for whom the bell tolls llc

doctor whom diagnose reactions to drugs

for whom is america named

whom do you seek o pilgrim

to whom is adidas marketed to

letter to whom it may concern

for whom the bells toll

to whom may concern

to whom do we belong god

proper use of whom and who

for whom the bell tolls music

mein kampf date written by whom

use of whomever whoever who whom

for whom the bell tolls alchohol

who verses whom

whom would i read it to

to whom schizophrenia most likely occur

to who or to whom

who to whom matrix

who writes like whom

who owes money to whom

whom invented the violin

equipment but from whom

those whom the gods

the shinigami whom ganju met

whom do you trust puzzle

using who and whom

jesurun whom i have chosen

Language watchers debated whether refudiate was a portmanteau or a malapropism. The blend is easy to figure out (refute or refuse + repudiate). But what's the story on malapropism?

Just Foolin' Around

Christopher Nolan's hit movie Inception propelled the word inception to #2 on the Summer Top Twenty. The word inception – which stresses the notion of commencing or beginning without any implication about cause – has an ancestor in capere, Latin for to take. Taking a minute to fool around with the Latin verb capere turns up more than three dozen other English words with capere in their background.

Language Links

Interest in refudiate reminds us of the eggcorn. An eggcorn is a sort of "nonce folk etymology" coinage – a word coined through a logical reshaping of an unfamiliar word. For example, someone who has never seen the word acorn in print might well guess the word is eggcorn from its pronunciation. Eggcorns, unlike malapropisms, make sense. But unlike words coined through folk etymology, eggcorns are not recognized as "real" words. (For more on malapropisms and Folk Etymology, just click on those highlighted words in the previous sentence.)

For a list of common eggcorns, check out the Eggcorn Database. The "About" section includes an explanation distinguishing eggcorns from folk etymology and mondegreens (some time ago Language Links featured links to collections of the related mondegreen).