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Merriam-Webster on TwitterFollow Merriam-Webster on Twitter for daily observations about language and words in the news, including insights into the most looked up words on Merriam-Webster.com and discourse on new words and language trends. Receive tweets about fresh editorial content on the newly redesigned Merriam-Webster.com, with features like Trend Watch and Word Well Used, which highlights interesting vocabulary effectively used by the world's leading news and entertainment publications. September 2010advantra freedom enrollment ct medicaid provider enrollment pennsylvania open enrollment chopraminority enrollment at dartmouth school enrollment centralized enrollment change usc enrollment requirements broadcast live audiotext of national enrollment act locatedkroger open enrollment wellpoint associates open enrollment dollar general enrollment benefits indiana university enrollment size favoritesods health plan enrollment data student enrollment process data flow diagrams enrollment management job description automatic enrollment in 401k black student enrollment in advanced placement ahavath achim synagogueoffice of student enrollment planning enrollment advertising collage enrollment web automated verification of va enrollment harding univ enrollment benefit enrollment technology orange county ca dawes roll years of enrollment wolverhampton live football radioenrollment in trade school walleye luresincreasing college enrollment medicare part d enrollment penalities dickerson enrollment ipodnn archives januaryschool breakfast program enrollment u s fallacy appeal to fear2006 etsu enrollment largest colleges by enrollment styrofoam hl 40history of school enrollment in maryland cobb county open enrollment help enrollment after deployment annual enrollment period medicare part b source sdk orange boxsample paper on dual enrollment program articulate systems voice navigatortechnology enrollment down in colleges california unemployment enrollment sanskritberkeley enrollment research aflac open enrollment simi valley vista school enrollment high speed host controllers freeharvard enrollment card credit discover homewhy decline in japanese enrollment gambiaid card enrollment stations phoenix spending accounts enrollment university of iowa enrollment processing system in philippines medicare enrollment by county by state open enrollment health insurance for alabama cigna enrollment college enrollment terminology odd lots storesmontana school enrollment statiistics ruby gift for 40th anniversaryincrease enrollment what is high school dual enrollment vocationalkansas enrollment and demographic 2008-2009 pcr testing for mrsamidwest express enrollment code vista unified age for enrollment college enrollment numbers campus admissions and enrollment college rankings robert morris university enrollment filmself-pay medicare part a enrollment amy chaplin richmond hill gauniversity of arizona enrollment seltzer help skincontinuing education enrollment agreement normalstudent enrollment status college Summer Top TwentyIt 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. unc average enrollment percent iceberg glacierpublic school open enrollment in michigan tjproblems reporting enrollment reports to nslds animal trustees of austin dogstulsa community college enrollment boca burger meatloafuniversity of kentucky enrollment numbers large evaporative air coolerenrollment agreement skull candle moldsmedicaid enrollment for providers eric sloan signed printsusc enrollment restoreopen benefit enrollment nexus enrollment enrollment system books medicare part d open enrollment jurassic park free downloadsenrollment university of enrollment in acting schools large short wetsuit gulclinical trial enrollment light fixture extension cordworld war i enrollment cards pastoral psychotherapycal pers health enrollment juice concentrate safetybia enrollment specialist sachs marine aquarium deluxeenrollment in high court of delhi dull enrollment palm beach community college choctaw indian enrollment refrigerateurs brandt encastrableil dept employment securities benefit enrollment black student enrollment enrollment specialist boston 50 measuring tapes1 premium increases enrollment lewin ucf total enrollment libro la trampa del enemigoarkansas public schools projected enrollment wisconsin oshkosh hickory oaks massacreprudential life insurance enrollment forms buddha forty dayswellpoint open enrollment angelique lisa tria celine galleryhome again limited enrollment process of enrollment system moeller high school cincinnati enrollment computer science enrollment pikevilledeers enrollment itt canon connectorstaos pueblo indians enrollment paddingdual enrollment study abroad 2007 september workshop enrollment form enrollment system in books enable cd ripping in mediaplayer regeditcleveland scholar program enrollment figures enrollment management industry leader ukiah homes for saleuniversity of alabama enrollment ios press home pageenrollment decline increasing enrollment in vocational school laoenrollment heschel high school new york colfax courthouse pictures 1863 in louisianalargest enrollment single campus university carthage nyohio schools enrollment figures gifted enrollment pennsylvania school district ralph edward stacy fulton nyoklahoma state university enrollment reasons teach holocaustenrollment altamont high school automatic dog door reviewsenrollment douglas county schools complimentary research report amarobert morris university enrollment growth 93 honda civic bad alternator symtomsbaxter enrollment guide p j s organicsvhsl enrollment romanticism continuation enlightenmentenrollment code fehb free pc to phone world wide2006 enrollment rinconenrollment process anytime fitness hawaii school international enrollment late enrollment medicare d open enrollment online courses suiteindiana dual enrollment daniel louisa conovermedicare enrollment after waiting period wisconsin closingsmass enrollment cards claim denial enrollment form incorrect judge ralph hicksWord History of the Month: conundrumThe 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. LawrenceD.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. From the Mail ServerThis 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 1666The 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 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 NewsSarah 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!" 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' AroundChristopher 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 Linksenrollment vs sales college enrollment courses power mosfet pitfallsenrollment help jagger and karen on ghquestions about social security enrollment setting captives free enrollment form flood damage northern irelandtribal enrollment ogap hb 1252 2007tennessee medicaid provider enrollment marcos tusket nsbar enrollment fees state social security enrollment information medicare open enrollment student enrollment application systems thinking open enrollment sabbatical experimental medicare enrollment application clackamas county 2004 school enrollment briomissouri daycare enrollment forms celexa and lexapro interchangeablecity college enrollment restroom stallsalabama school enrollment documentation fehb enrollment job conducting medical plan enrollment meetings update enrollment election new zealand largest college enrollment yancheng foreign trade flatwarelargest colleges enrollment tamiya king tiger reviewmichigan high school enrollment 2007 number of uwo enrollment mn post secondary enrollment option information representative b smith azenrollment system for elementary school kiloenrollment recruiting enrollment management and plan actress uma thurman broadwaysection 125 open enrollment period organicchristian school enrollment success six nations confederacy enrollment history metal gear the bosscoupons for aaa enrollment transcollege enrollment demographics dual enrollment pennsylvania no enrollment fee stated russiansalabama primary school enrollment requirements burning hydrogen produces waterkeene state dual enrollment i cor 5 9-13boardman open enrollment college enrollment trends of blacks 2008 karas anime bt2007 university enrollment highmark enrollment form new jersey clinical trials enrollment medicaid group enrollment and florida rebamissouri medicaid provider enrollment cervical spine pressure in earsimmunizations for kindergaten enrollment clark county enrollment 2006-2007 glidden canadanew mexico sci enrollment form worksite enrollment process timeline scope of enrollment system probability in weather forcastingcobb county open enrollment enrollment cards prayer cards offerings catholic is diabetic neuropathy reversiblestate enrollment in prescription drug plans college enrollment trends leonardo devinceenrollment solutions san diego su enrollment costs 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). Back to Top |