Merriam-Webster facts for kids
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| Parent company | Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
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| Founded | 1831 |
| Founder | George Merriam, Charles Merriam |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | 47 Federal Street, Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Publication types | Reference books, online dictionaries |
| Owner(s) | Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an American publishing company best known for its famous English dictionaries. Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, it is the oldest publisher of dictionaries in the United States. The company helps millions of students, teachers, and readers learn the meanings, spellings, and origins of words.
The company was founded in 1831 by two brothers named George and Charles Merriam. In 1843, they bought the rights to a famous dictionary created by Noah Webster. Today, Merriam-Webster produces printed books, digital language tools, word games, and popular educational websites.
Contents
What Is the History of Merriam-Webster?
How Noah Webster Started American Dictionaries
Before Merriam-Webster existed as a company, an American scholar named Noah Webster wanted to create a unique reference book. In 1806, he published a small book called A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. Webster wanted people across the young United States to share a standard way of speaking and writing.
In 1807, Webster started an ambitious project to build a complete dictionary. To trace the history and origins of words, he learned 26 different languages. He spent over twenty years researching, writing definitions, and collecting examples.
Webster introduced distinct American English spellings to make English simpler and more phonetic. He changed British spellings like colour to color, waggon to wagon, and centre to center. He also included native American words such as skunk and squash. In 1828, he published his massive work titled An American Dictionary of the English Language, containing 70,000 words.
The Merriam Brothers and Early Growth
In 1831, brothers George and Charles Merriam opened a printing and publishing shop called G & C Merriam Co. in Springfield, Massachusetts. They printed law books, Bibles, and school textbooks.
When Noah Webster passed away in 1843, the Merriam brothers purchased the legal rights to his dictionary. They hired Webster's son-in-law to edit and improve the text. In 1847, the Merriam company released its first updated version of Webster's dictionary at a much lower price, making it accessible to ordinary families.
In 1859, the company added illustrations to the dictionary pages, helping visual learners understand difficult words. By 1864, the company published a fully overhauled edition containing expanded definitions and more words than any competing English dictionary of its era.
Expanding Throughout the 20th Century
In 1898, the company released the first edition of the Collegiate Dictionary. This book was designed to be smaller and handier for high school and college students. It became one of the most popular desk reference books in American history.
As the English language grew, the Merriam company expanded its large unabridged volumes. In 1909 and 1934, they published massive editions containing over 500,000 defined words. These books covered technical terms from modern science, medicine, technology, and global cultures.
In 1961, the company released Webster's Third New International Dictionary, edited by Philip B. Gove. This edition changed how dictionaries worked by focusing on how people actually spoke and wrote in daily life rather than dictating strict traditional rules. In 1964, the publisher became a subsidiary of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
In 1982, the business officially changed its corporate name to Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. This helped readers distinguish genuine Merriam publications from other books using the public domain name "Webster."
How Are Merriam-Webster Dictionaries Created?
The Role of Lexicographers
A person who writes and edits dictionaries is called a lexicographer. Lexicographers at Merriam-Webster read books, news articles, science journals, song lyrics, and online posts every single day. Their goal is to discover new words and track shifts in how familiar words are used.
When an editor finds an interesting or new word usage, they save it with its surrounding sentence. This saved example is called a citation. The citation shows how the word functions in real contexts.
Collecting Word Citations
Merriam-Webster maintains an enormous citation file with over 16 million examples of words in context. For more than a century, editors wrote these citations by hand on small 3-by-5 paper index cards.
These historical paper archives are preserved carefully at the company headquarters. Since 2009, editors record all new citations into a searchable digital database, allowing lexicographers to analyze language trends quickly.
How a Word Enters the Dictionary
A new word is not added to the dictionary just because it is trendy or invented yesterday. To earn a spot in Merriam-Webster, a word must meet three strict rules:
- Frequent use: Many different people must use the word regularly.
- Widespread use: The word must appear across various regions, publications, and fields.
- Meaningful use: The word must have a clear, shared meaning that readers might need explained.
Once a word meets these standards over several years, an editor writes a clear definition, records its pronunciation, notes its part of speech, and adds it to the official list.
What Modern Products and Services Does Merriam-Webster Offer?
Digital Tools and Mobile Apps
In 1996, Merriam-Webster launched its free website, bringing definitions and synonyms directly to the internet. Today, the website serves millions of students, writers, and researchers around the world.
Merriam-Webster offers mobile apps for smartphones and tablets. These apps include voice search, audio pronunciations, vocabulary quizzes, and digital flashcards for students studying for exams.
Educational Features and Word Games
Merriam-Webster provides educational resources that make vocabulary learning entertaining:
- Word of the Day: A daily feature explaining an interesting word, its definition, and its historical origin.
- Word Games: The company hosts vocabulary games, crossword puzzles, and the online puzzle game Quordle.
- Ask the Editor: Short educational videos where lexicographers explain confusing grammar rules and word origins.
- Pronunciation Audio: Spoken recordings by native speakers that show the standard pronunciation of tricky words.
Specialized Reference Books
Merriam-Webster publishes many specialized reference books for different subjects and age levels:
- School Dictionaries: Simplified dictionaries designed specifically for elementary, middle school, and high school students.
- Thesauruses: Books that list synonyms (words with similar meanings) and antonyms (opposites).
- Medical and Legal Dictionaries: Professional guides that define complex terms used by doctors, scientists, and lawyers.
- Geographical and Biographical Guides: Reference works listing famous world places, historical figures, and landmarks.
- Bilingual Dictionaries: Translation guides between English and other languages, such as Spanish and French.
Why Is Merriam-Webster Important Today?
Merriam-Webster helps document the living history of the English language. Unlike some languages with official governing academies, English evolves through natural communication. Merriam-Webster records these changes accurately and clearly.
Major book publishers, news organizations, and universities rely on Merriam-Webster as their official authority for spelling and word usage. For example, The Chicago Manual of Style, a standard guide for American publishing, uses Merriam-Webster as its primary spelling reference. By recording how words are born, change, and grow, Merriam-Webster helps people communicate effectively.
See also
In Spanish: Merriam-Webster para niños
- Lists of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year
- Quordle, an online word game owned by the company launched in 2022
- Kory Stamper, lexicographer, editor, and social media personality at Merriam-Webster
- Webster's Dictionary
- Webster's Third New International Dictionary
- Word War 5, a word game collection co-distributed by the company launched in 1995
