SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Merriam-Webster Inc., America's leading language reference publisher, has announced the year's top ten words and definitions as culled from its popular Web site Merriam-Webster.com (www.Merriam-Webster.com). The 2009 Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year list is based on actual user lookups to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Online Thesaurus.

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The word of the year that received the highest intensity of searches over the shortest period of time is "admonish," defined in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(®) Dictionary, Eleventh Edition as: "to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner."

"Admonish shot to the top of the list three days after Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst during a speech made by President Obama, and it remained among our top lookups for weeks," said Peter A. Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's Editor at Large. "When the House announced plans to 'admonish' Rep. Wilson, the word was understood to be technical or official, and it has been repeated often in coverage of recent contentious political issues. While this particular story wasn't very important in the context of a year's worth of news, it triggered enormous interest in this word."

"On the other hand," said Sokolowski, "words associated with two of the year's top news stories were likely looked up because they seemed to designate something very specific. The word philanderer was looked up frequently on two occasions, most likely as a result of stories concerning Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and late night talk show host David Letterman. Interest in the word furlough shows how much the economy is on people's minds, but also something more: this concern is clearly about jobs and income, not the macroeconomic picture."

Traffic to Merriam-Webster.com now exceeds 1.3 billion individual page views per year. On average, the company responds to approximately ten lookup requests in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary or Thesaurus per second. During peak hours, this may increase to more than 100 requests per second.

For the complete list of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year, including definitions, please visit http://www.Merriam-Webster.com/info/09words.htm. For additional information on the selection process, or to arrange an interview on this topic with Merriam-Webster's Editor at Large Peter Sokolowski, please contact Arthur J. Bicknell, Senior Publicist, at the above address.

Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster Inc. acquired the rights to revise and publish Noah Webster's dictionaries in 1843. Since then, Merriam-Webster has maintained an ongoing commitment to innovation, scholarship, and love of language. Today, the company continues as the leader in both print and electronic language reference publishing with reference products, learning tools, and word games. For more information about the company, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, or the new Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's English Dictionary, visit www.Merriam-Webster.com.

    CONTACT: Arthur Bicknell, Senior Publicist
    Merriam-Webster Inc.
    Phone: (413) 734-3134 ext. 119
    E-mail: abicknell@Merriam-Webster.com

SOURCE Merriam-Webster Inc.

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