The Year In Words From Webster's Dictionary

Continuing this week's year end roundup, I present the year in words courtesy of Webster's.com.  Each week, the dictionary's website highlights a word that has shown a big surge in search requests on the site.   For example, "zany" was the word of the week for December 14th after Mitt Romney used it to describe his then-surging opponent Newt Gingrich.   There was "mercurial" the week Steve Jobs died and "lewd" back in June when the Anthony Weiner scandal peaked.

Their list for the entire year reads like something of a snapshot of 2011's language zeitgeist. As a writer, I visit the site often and I always enjoy reading about Webster's word of the week while sometimes getting clarification about meaning and/or usage of the word of the moment.   My personal favorite entry for 2011?  Haboob, the usage of which caused a bit of a political storm this summer.  Don't know what it means?  Well you can actually see one in one of the big holiday movies out now.