NPR's Book of the Day

Episode: "‘Unabridged’ explores the history of the dictionary – and why it’s in trouble now"

Host: NPR’s Don Gonyea
Guest: Stefan Fatsis (author of The Thrill of and Threat to the Modern Dictionary)
Date: December 25, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the fascinating and sometimes tumultuous history of the dictionary, based on Stefan Fatsis' new book The Thrill of and Threat to the Modern Dictionary. Moving from Noah Webster’s foundational work to the present-day threats posed by technology and AI, the discussion spans historical anecdotes, the painstaking process of adding new words, and the existential challenges facing dictionary publishers in the digital age.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Enduring Allure and Authority of the Dictionary

• Dictionaries were once best sellers and a core authority on language.
• With the internet and now AI, the way we seek definitions and learn about language has radically shifted.
  • "For many decades, dictionaries were best sellers and seen as the authority on the English language. But the Internet and more recently artificial intelligence have transformed how we get information, including definitions of words." (Host, 01:15)

2. Noah Webster and the Birth of the American Dictionary

• Who was Noah Webster?
  • "Noah Webster was a newspaper publisher, a politician, a revolutionary, and most famously, a lexicographer. He was the founding father of the American dictionary." (Fatsis, 02:05)
• Webster’s drive to create an American dictionary stemmed from a desire to forge national identity through language.
  • "He felt that language defined who we are as a people and who we are as a nation. And that meant finding, defining, and including in his dictionary American words like revolutionary and Americanize and words from Native American culture like maize and canoe and snowshoe." (Fatsis, 02:46)

3. Inside Merriam-Webster: Defining Words as a Lexicographer

• Fatsis embedded with Merriam-Webster, training as a lexicographer.
  • "I had to learn the procedures for researching and writing about words...this was this wonderful opportunity to explore how the sausage is made in curating contemporary English." (Fatsis, 03:28)
• He was determined to get his own definitions accepted—an unexpectedly tough challenge.
  • "When I got there, my very first day...I said, oh, I want to write definitions. And he said, definitions that get in the dictionary? And I said, yeah. And he said, well, we'll see about that." (Fatsis, 04:22)
  • Only 14 of about 90 words he defined have made it online so far. Notables include "microaggression," "safe space," "dogpile," and "headbutt." (Fatsis, 05:14)
  • Example of rejection: "One that I really liked was a concussion related word called the fencing response...I thought that was gonna get in, but it didn't." (Fatsis, 05:34)

4. Words as Political, Controversial, and Culturally Loaded

• Definition choices can be political and spark controversy.
• Anecdote: In 1959, Merriam-Webster’s editor included the F-word in a new edition, but the president of the company removed it for being too offensive—showing ongoing battles over what’s deemed acceptable.
  • "Gove wanted everything to be in the dictionary. He defined the F word just like every other word. And the president of Merriam Webster struck it from the book. It was the one word...felt was too offensive..." (Fatsis, 06:37)

5. The Speed and Nature of Language Change in the Digital Era

• Every generation feels theirs is the most linguistically revolutionary.
• The internet (and now social media) has dramatically accelerated how quickly new words are adopted.
  • "A word can go from obscure or brand new to widely used seemingly overnight. That was never the case." (Fatsis, 07:48)

6. Existential Threats Facing the Modern Dictionary

• "The most likely way that people look up words is they type a word into a space bar on Google...Google added what are called knowledge panels. They licensed information from dictionary publishers and put their own definition up there. That's usually enough for a reader." (Fatsis, 08:27)
• With AI, snippets and summaries are generated from multiple sources, pushing users away from dictionary websites, and threatening their ad-based business models.
  • "The business threat there is that, you know, commercial dictionaries, the few that are left need people going to their websites so that they can have advertising that's threatened by these developments technologically." (Fatsis, 08:47)
• Merriam-Webster’s effort to diversify: games, apps, newsletters, and new engagement strategies for survival.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the challenges of lexicography:
  "I spent days, weeks, working on definitions of words that professional lexicographers in the building would have banged out in much, much less time." (Fatsis, 04:48)

• On the politics of what words belong:
  "The president of Merriam Webster struck it from the book. It was the one word that the president of Merriam Webster felt was too offensive, would trigger readers, that would send 11 year old boys looking it up." (Fatsis, 07:01)

• On rapid language change:
  "A word can go from obscure or brand new to widely used seemingly overnight. That was never the case." (Fatsis, 07:48)

• On the business threat from Google and AI:
  "The most likely way that people look up words is they type a word into a space bar on Google...15 years ago, 10 years ago, Google added...knowledge panels.... And more recently with the advent of AI, Google's AI overview will take information from around the Internet and sum it up." (Fatsis, 08:27)

• On Merriam-Webster’s survival strategy:
  "There are a lot of games on its website now. There are apps and newsletters and other ways to generate revenue that take it away from the traditional lexicography that the company has been doing since Noah Webster.... The hope is that the innovation that Merriam has undertaken will save the business of lexicography for many more generations to come." (Fatsis, 08:59)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:13 – Introduction to the book and the changing role of dictionaries
• 02:05 – Who was Noah Webster and his motivations
• 03:28 – Fatsis’s experience embedded at Merriam-Webster
• 05:14 – Words defined, accepted, and rejected by Fatsis
• 06:20 – The politics and controversy of word inclusion (notably the F-word episode)
• 07:48 – The accelerating pace of language change in the internet age
• 08:27 – The existential business threats to dictionary publishers from Google and AI
• 08:59 – Merriam-Webster’s strategies for adaptation and survival

Conclusion

This episode is a lively and insightful look at the ever-evolving world of dictionaries, from their foundational role in shaping American identity to the modern challenges presented by technology and shifting cultural norms. Fatsis brings both reverence and realism, showing how the craft of lexicography blends painstaking tradition with the constant pressure to adapt.