Dictionary Fun

I really like words: using them, knowing definitions and etymology. I should have been a lexicographer. Online dictionaries and thesauruses offer ways to spend time, when I should be doing other things, yet not feel like I'm wasting time. I'm learning something, after all!

Words hit the news when the annual 2010's Top Ten Words were posted at the Merriam-Webster online site. I checked it out. In the explanation it's stated: "...This profile of America's mood and interests is determined by the volume of user look ups at Merriam-Webster.com in response to current events and conditions."

How can they know the words were in response to anything other than curiosity? I assume they have a program that registers the date and time a word is looked up (I wonder if it also collects IP addresses?), then someone (more likely some program) correlates that with national/world events.

M-W also has a Top Ten TREND words (different parameters in the above program, no doubt), and a Top Ten most frequently looked up words. It's pretty interesting, but I find the juggling of statistics, and the "newsworthiness" (the pages information is always picked up by the media) is a bit iffy.

The entire site has myriad interesting pages and segments (although also filled with many monetizing ads and columns; I guess that's what keeps it free, so I shouldn't grumble). My favorite dictionary page is the "remarkable origins" page. Do you have a favorite?