NYT’s Most Commonly Searched Words
One benefit of reading the New York Times online is the “look up” function: double-click on any word and a small question mark appears. Click the question mark and you get a definition, courtesy of the American Heritage Dictionary.
Now they've mined their data to report on the 50 most frequently looked-up words on nytimes.com in 2009. At the top of the list is sui generis, a Latin term meaning “constituting a class alone: unique, peculiar.” The most ironic, as several have noted, is laconic (definition: using few words; expressing much in few words; concise). The list would make a great SAT study aid.
Although I knew many of the words, I have to admit sumptuary threw me for a loop (definition: relating to personal expenditures and especially to prevent extravagance and luxury; designed to regulate extravagant expenditures or habits especially on moral or religious grounds). Sumptuary shares the same root as the word “sumptuous” (definition: extremely costly, rich, luxurious), so I should have got it from that. Sumptuary taxes are often on products considered vices, such as alcohol and tobacco. A more common term is “sin tax.”
Although the NY Times developed the “look up” function to make sure their writers, who are often accused of elitism, aren't alienating readers, the concept would work marvelously for students. Imagine that a student can double-click a word in an online textbook to see its definition. Then imagine the instructor can receive weekly spreadsheets indicating which words have been clicked most often by students. This is the educational potential of data mining.
About the spreadsheet: I took the rank, words, and number of reader looks-ups from the NY Times list and added definitions for the words. You can also view a full-sized spreadsheet.
Source: New York Times Web Analytics Group
Data for January 1 to May 26, 2009
Definitions: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.
Now they've mined their data to report on the 50 most frequently looked-up words on nytimes.com in 2009. At the top of the list is sui generis, a Latin term meaning “constituting a class alone: unique, peculiar.” The most ironic, as several have noted, is laconic (definition: using few words; expressing much in few words; concise). The list would make a great SAT study aid.
Although I knew many of the words, I have to admit sumptuary threw me for a loop (definition: relating to personal expenditures and especially to prevent extravagance and luxury; designed to regulate extravagant expenditures or habits especially on moral or religious grounds). Sumptuary shares the same root as the word “sumptuous” (definition: extremely costly, rich, luxurious), so I should have got it from that. Sumptuary taxes are often on products considered vices, such as alcohol and tobacco. A more common term is “sin tax.”
Although the NY Times developed the “look up” function to make sure their writers, who are often accused of elitism, aren't alienating readers, the concept would work marvelously for students. Imagine that a student can double-click a word in an online textbook to see its definition. Then imagine the instructor can receive weekly spreadsheets indicating which words have been clicked most often by students. This is the educational potential of data mining.
About the spreadsheet: I took the rank, words, and number of reader looks-ups from the NY Times list and added definitions for the words. You can also view a full-sized spreadsheet.
Source: New York Times Web Analytics Group
Data for January 1 to May 26, 2009
Definitions: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.
posted by Grammar Cracker at
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