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Merriam-Webster Profile picture
@MerriamWebster
May 31, 2019 • 3 tweets • 1 min read • Read on X
📈Our top lookups are never more delightful than during the #spellingbee final. Right now we have auftaktigkeit, karmadharaya, thymele, tjaele, jindyworobak, and huanglongbing hanging out.
And yes, those were all cut and pasted.
📈Now spotted at the party: omphalopsychite, Roskopf, rhathymia, urfirnis, limitrophe, hochmoor

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More from @MerriamWebster

Merriam-Webster Profile picture
Jul 3
Why is it ‘cancelled’ in the U.K. but ‘canceled’ in the U.S.?

Because we gave them that L in 1776.
Kidding- both are acceptable.

FWIW Noah Webster’s 1806 dictionary has ‘cancelled’, but in his 1828 edition the word is spelled as ‘canceled.’
merriam-webster.com/grammar/cancel…
Read 4 tweets
Merriam-Webster Profile picture
May 21
‘Spam,’ meaning “unsolicited usually commercial messages,” comes from Monty Python.

Well, before that, ‘Spam’ was only a canned meat product.

Still is.

But in 1970…
🧵⬇️ Image
"Monty Python’s Flying Circus" had a sketch where a group of restaurant Vikings aggressively sing a song about "Spam"...

...over and over until they drown out all other conversations.

In the 1990s, unrelenting solicitations that popped up on Usenet reminded early Internet users of that sketch.

In 1994, "Network World "described these unwanted solicitations as a "spam attack," thereby introducing the annoying electronic type of ‘spam’ to a broader audience.
Read 4 tweets
Merriam-Webster Profile picture
May 20
Why is it called ‘pickleball’?

In 1965, Joel Pritchard of Washington State was bored on vacation.

So, he and his friends made up a game using a badminton court, table tennis paddles, and a perforated plastic ball.
🧵⬇️
His wife, Joan, was an avid rowing fan.

In rowing, a ‘pickle boat’ is a competition in which leftover crew members are thrown together on a team.

Since this new game incorporated “leftover” elements of similar sports, she suggested…

'pickle ball.’
FWIW: In the context of rowing, the term “pickle boat” came from old fishing fleets, as the very last boat to return to port was said to be responsible for pickling that day’s catch.
Read 5 tweets
Merriam-Webster Profile picture
Jan 20
Hey ding-dongs, let’s have a chit-chat about Ablaut reduplication.

If you have three words, the order usually goes 'I-A-O.'
-tic-tac-toe

If there are only two words, ‘I’ is the first and the second is either ‘A’ or ‘O.’
-click-clack
-King-Kong
This seems to be a rule we all just… know?

It’s the reason why these don’t feel quite right…
-hop-hip
-raffriff
-spot-spit
-flop-flip
-zag-zig
-Ross Rick
Many brand names utilize our subconscious affinity for this rule to their advantage.

-KitKat
-Ziploc
-TikTok
-Yik Yak
-Tic-Tac
-Ping Pong
-Tivo
Read 4 tweets
Merriam-Webster Profile picture
Jan 13
Acoustic guitars used to just be called ‘guitars.’

Then, we invented electric guitars. Oh no.

Which meant saying ‘guitar’ wasn’t clear enough.

So 'guitars' became 'acoustic guitars.'

‘Acoustic guitar’ is an example of a ‘retronym.’

🧵⬇️
A 'retronym' is a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun.

Many retronyms have come about due to technological advances.
For example, all cameras used to only use film, so we just called them ‘cameras.’

Digital cameras are invented. What a world…

We now say ‘film camera’ for cameras that use film.
Read 6 tweets
Merriam-Webster Profile picture
Sep 18, 2025
-cease and desist
-null and void
-aid and abet
-free and clear
-ways and means

Why is law stuff like this always two words?

These are called ‘legal doublets’ and we can once again blame the Normans.

🧵⬇️
Post 1066, the language of nobility was French, and the language of the working class was English.

Since both English and French speakers needed to understand legal matters, a word from each language was often used to aid understanding:
⬇️
'breaking and entering'
breaking = English
entering = French

'will and testament'
will = English
testament = French
Read 5 tweets

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