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Merriam-Webster Launches Open Dictionary

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the wikipetitor dept.

sweganeer writes "Merriam-Webster just released Open Dictionary to better take and share the pulse of language through the Web. Of course, Webster's has long celebrated and conveyed language's evolution - unlike linguistic prescriptivists who fail to grasp that's just what language does; and - where I've compared entries - they've certainly done so in a more consistent, professional fashion than online amateurs have in recent years: might Open Dictionary - in conjunction with Webster's standard Online Dictionary - yield the best of authoritative (top-down) and organic (bottom-up), online lexicography?"

7 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. Does this mean... by Elrac · · Score: 5, Funny

    that now SlashDotters will no longer have an excuse for poor spelling in their posts?

    --
    When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called Rel
    1. Re:Does this mean... by gooman · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sure, but their grammering ain't not going to be no better.

      --
      "Kittens give Morbo gas!"
  2. Haiku from the "DUH" Department by Spinlock_1977 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Merriam-Webster?
    An on-line dictionary?
    Fucking brilliant boys!

    --
    - The Kessel run is for nerf herders. I can circumnavigate the entire Central Finite Curve in a lot less than 12 parse
  3. Open Dictionary by sloths · · Score: 3, Funny

    I hate it when I leave my dictionary open. I read on Wikipedia it isn't good for the spine.

    --
    really 867993
    Karma schkarma
  4. Re:OOoh. How original. by vagabond_gr · · Score: 3, Funny

    Incorrect. Wiktionary is a free dictionary. This one is open. The distinction is important.

    Thanks for the update, Richard.

    Seriously, I totally agree. I would mod you up if I had some points.

  5. There ain't no call for spell chequers here by dbIII · · Score: 4, Funny
    now SlashDotters will no longer have an excuse for poor spelling in their posts?
    "Lat every felawe telle his tale aboute" from Chaucer sums up my view and should show that reading mispelled words and unconventional grammer is really not all of that hard. The language of the net is broken english, but not so broken as to make it too difficult to read, so live with it. If we all take spelling far too seriously things will degenerate into boring flame wars over whether the Oxford dictionary trumps the Webster. Spelling flames on a forum where "IP" has many meanings makes no sense at all.

    Let's just talk about the shiny things and let other more formal forums worry about where to put their pronouns.

  6. attention mr "editor" by Clover_Kicker · · Score: 5, Funny

    > Of course, Webster's has long celebrated and conveyed
    > language's evolution - unlike linguistic prescriptivists who
    > fail to grasp that's just what language does; and - where I've
    > compared entries - they've certainly done so in a more
    > consistent, professional fashion than online amateurs have in
    > recent years: might Open Dictionary - in conjunction with
    > Webster's standard Online Dictionary - yield the best of
    > authoritative (top-down) and organic (bottom-up), online
    > lexicography?"

    Tip for the day - no sentence should have 70 words in it.