Springfield’s Merriam-Webster prints new edition of its familiar ‘Collegiate Dictionary’

SPRINGFIELD — Book\ buk \ n: a set of written, printed, or blank sheets bound together between a front and back cover.

Dictionary maker Merriam-Webster isn't adding the notation "archaic" to that definition anytime soon. The Springfield-based stalwart announced Thursday that it's publishing a new edition, the 12th, of its iconic "Collegiate Dictionary."

Complete with thumb notches and a deep red cover, weighing almost 5 pounds, the 12th edition is the first new edition of the tome in 20 years.

Merriam-Webster has a new edition of its "Collegiate Dictionary." (Merriam-Webster photo)The Republican

"Our website receives over a billion visits per year," Greg Barlow, president of Merriam-Webster, said in a statement. "But people still love books. In fact, we continue to sell over a million dictionaries a year — and the new 12th edition is the finest 'Collegiate' we've ever published."

It comes out officially Nov. 18, but it's available for preorder for $33.20 .

Merriam-Webster says the 12th edition dictionary features more than 5,000 new words, including cold brew, farm-to-table, rizz, dad bod, dumbphone and ghost kitchen, plus 1,000 new phrases and idioms.

A Merriam-Webster dictionary sits atop citation files at the dictionary publisher's offices on Dec. 9, 2014, in Springfield. (Stephan Savoia / Associated Press, File)AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File

The new edition also introduces curated word lists. Examples include: "Words from the 1990s" and "Words for Things That Often Go Unnamed," according to the statement.

Those words include sitzmark, a depression left in the snow by a skier falling backward, and aglet, the reinforced end of a shoelace. Escutcheon is a protective or ornamental plate around a keyhole.

Dictionary maker Merriam-Webster has a new print edition of its "Collegiate Dictionary." (Merriam-Webster photo)The Republican

Merriam-Webster promises fascinating word histories, including that the word calculate comes from the Latin for "pebble," because Romans used little stones for addition and subtraction.

Merriam-Webster, which is 180 years old, has expanded greatly with an online and social media presence in recent years.

"Over the last 10 years, our revenue has grown by nearly 500%, mostly from our digital products," Barlow said in the statement. "But we still love books."

Other new words include:

• adulting

• beast mode

• cancel culture

• dashcam

• doomscroll

• fanfic

• friend zone

• gaslighting

• hard pass

• influencer

• love language

• petrichor

• photobomb

• side-eye

• teraflop

• WFH

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