People often introduce a definition of a word by saying, “Webster says . . . “ The truth is, Noah Webster himself — the founder of American lexicography, or dictionary-making — hasn’t actually “said” ...

Earlier this week, we reported the story of an iOS app maker intent on shaming pirates by hijacking users’ Twitter accounts in order to post a message saying “How about we all stop using pirated iOS ...

DICTIONARY users want to be able to find the words they search for and get enough information about those words to make their search worthwhile. But how do dictionary-makers select words and decide ...

A few weeks ago, dictionary-maker Merriam-Webster posted on Twitter this handy tip: “It’s fine to use mad to mean ‘angry’— even if doing so makes some people mad.” I have since compiled an exhaustive ...

TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online ...