One of the questions that we get quite often is, how can I get a word into the dictionary?
There is some distinction shown between a mustache and a mustachio.
Coming up on Word Matters, inventing new words and the history of mustache.
I'm Emily Brewster and Word Matters is a new podcast from Merriam-Webster produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.
On each episode, Merriam-Webster editors Neil Servin, Amon Shea,
Peter Sokolowski and I explore some aspect of the English language from the dictionary's vantage point.
So let's say you've invented a useful word that perfectly fills a gap in the language.
All you have to do is tweet it to your local dictionary publisher and it'll get added to the dictionary,
right?
I'm afraid no. Even if we agree that your coinage is useful,
the chances that your word will someday meet our criteria for entry are very slim.
And yet, perhaps there's reason for hope.
Editor Amon Shea has this story of an invented word that somehow beat the odds.
At Miriam Webster, we get a lot of letters.
We get complaints.
occasional kudos, and we get many, many questions.
In that last category, one of the questions that we get quite often is,
how can I get a word into the dictionary?
We are hardly unique in this regard.
I think Oxford actually has an entire page on their website dedicated to answering this question,