Style Blog: What's the word? Lexicographers explain it all

Words and the way we use them offer a rare window on the popular zeitgeist. Kory Stamper and Peter Sokolowski know that better than most. The Merriam-Webster lexicographers (and must-follow tweeters) are part of a team that edits the dictionary, which means they spend a lot of time poring over our collective textual output -- books, blogs, even take-out menus -- and studying word-use trends. Some, like the popular appendage of "super-" to pretty much any word, emerged gradually over decades. But...