Webster's Third New International Dictionary

Thirty years ago Philip Babcock Gove '22 told the readers of this magazine: "The English language is infinitely complex and extremely difficult." It is, however, less so because of Gove's chef d'oeuvre, Webster's Third New International Dictionary, or W3 as word-mavens refer to it. Gove served as Merriam-Webster's editor-in-chief during the decade-long gestation of the unabridged, 2,700-page, 460,000-entry dictionary, a tome that set a new standard on its publication in 1961. It has gone through 44 printings, With more than two million copies sold.

Gove's leadership was not without controversy. To accommodate 100,000 words and meanings newly minted since the second (1934) edition—plus a number of naughty words previously shunned by ety-mologists W3 dropped earlier biographical and geographical appendixes, and, to save even more space, introduced a single-phrase defining technique supplemented by usage examples. Gove successfully defended all but one of his tough decisions (the president of the company overruled him on the "f" word) and today Gove's innovations arc standard.

One usage example we note with a modicum of pride: W3 cites the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine as its source for the back-formation "reune." Call it DAM's gift of a word.

An extremely active verb: "to reune."