The New Oxford American Dictionary's publishers have chosen the 2009 word of the year.

A reader has an interesting point to make about a phrase that is all over the news these days:

"It is sad that Kilpatrick has given up writing his columns on usage.  If he were still writing, I am certain that he would by now have issued one of his 'injunctions' against the currently sickeningly popular cliche 'town hall meeting.'  If it ain't held in a bonafide town hall, call it a community meeting or a high school gym meeting or whatever it is."

The editors of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary have added about 100 words for the 2009 edition and to the dictionary online.

The latest installment in The N&O's Old North State series, Warrenton fights to regain lost glory, allows us a chance to use the lovely sounding word, antebellum.

Those who report the news often apply labels to terrible or urgent events: tragedy, disaster, crisis, emergency. Sometimes, those labels don't quite fit. We risk overstating the trouble.

As President-elect Barack Obama and his staff prepare for the new administration, the word "vet" has come up often in news reports.

Roy Blount Jr. was on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" today to promote his word book, "Alphabet Juice."

If you want to hear the show without pledge breaks, click here. You can also read an excerpt from the book there. Folks called in with favorite words. 

Do the words hornswoggle, mollycoddle and whippersnapper make you giggle? They are among the 100 Funniest Words in English, according to one list. I am partial to No. 71: namby-pamby. I especially like how William Shatner sneers it in a Priceline commercial. Some words that aren't on that list but are suggested on a list at Inherently Funny: conniption, persnickety and poppycock. Do you have other suggestions?

AlphaDictionary also has a list of the 100 Most Beautiful Words in English. Loquacious, peccadillo and serendipity are on that list. Here is another list of beautiful words, and here is a list of 70 of the most beautiful words as determined by a survey. What do you think are the most beautiful words in English?

A new book examines the words and terms that English has borrowed from other languages.

We heard the word "maverick" over and over last week. What does it mean and where did it come from?