Editing Webster's Dictionary (section)

== <span id="The Collegiate Dictionary">Merriam-Webster's ''Collegiate Dictionary''</span> ==
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[[File:Webster collegiate 11.jpg|thumb|upright|Merriam-Webster's eleventh edition of the ''Collegiate Dictionary'']]

[[Merriam-Webster]] introduced its ''Collegiate Dictionary'' in 1898 and the series is now in its eleventh edition. Following the publication of ''Webster's International'' in 1890, two ''Collegiate'' editions were issued as abridgments of each of their ''Unabridged'' editions.

With the ninth edition (''Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary'' (WNNCD), published in 1983), the ''Collegiate'' adopted changes which distinguish it as a separate entity rather than merely an abridgment of the "Third New International." Some proper names were returned to the word list, including names of [[Knights of the Round Table]]. The most notable change was the inclusion of the date of the first known citation of each word, to document its entry into the English language. The eleventh edition (published in 2003) includes more than 225,000 definitions, and more than 165,000 entries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dictionary Adds 150 Entries to Updated Edition |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dictionary-adds-150-entries-updated-edition-n109126 |access-date=November 25, 2021 |work=NBC News |agency=Reuters |date=May 19, 2014 |archive-date=November 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125163545/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dictionary-adds-150-entries-updated-edition-n109126 |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[CD-ROM]] of the text is sometimes included.

This dictionary is preferred as a source "for general matters of spelling" by ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'', which is followed by many book publishers and magazines in the United States. The ''Chicago Manual'' states that it "normally opts for" the first spelling listed.<ref name=cms15>''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'', 15th edition, New York and London: University of Chicago Press, 2003, Chapter 7: "Spelling, Distinctive Treatment of Words, and Compounds", Section 7.1 "Introduction", p. 278</ref>

In addition to its ''Collegiate'' editions G. & C. Merriam Co. also produced abridged editions for students (''Primary School, Elementary School, Secondary School, High School, Common School, Academic'') as well as for general public (''Condensed, Practical, Handy''). The first edition of the abridged ''Primary School'' dictionary was prepared by Noah Webster in 1833 and later revised by William G. Webster and William A. Wheeler.

=== Editions ===

Below is a list of years of publication of the Collegiate dictionaries.
* 1st: 1898
* 2nd: 1910
* 3rd: 1916
* 4th: 1931
* 5th: 1936
* 6th: 1949
* 7th: 1963
* 8th: 1973
* 9th: 1983
* 10th: 1993
* 11th: 2003
Though there has not been a fully-revised new edition of the Collegiate dictionary since the release of the 11th edition in 2003, new words and senses, like ''Bitcoin'' and ''ransomware'', are added into new prints of the dictionary on a regular basis to meet the current need of readers.