Historic Update to Merriam Webster's Official SCRABBLE Players
Dictionary Follows Public Vote
PAWTUCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
It was a war of words, but in the end, geocache beat out 15 other
nominated words in the SCRABBLE Word Showdown to become the winning word
that will be included in the upcoming fifth edition of Merriam-Webster's Official
SCRABBLE Players Dictionary. This marks the dictionary's first major
update in nearly a decade and the first time the dictionary has ever
included a word that was voted on by fans.
"SCRABBLE fans are passionate about the words they get to play in the
game, so we were thrilled to get them involved in selecting a new word
to be added to The Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary," said
Jonathan Berkowitz, vice president of marketing at Hasbro. "We had a lot
of fun following the showdown on Facebook and are looking forward to
adding geocache as a legal, playable word."
Nominated by fans following a national call-for-entries on the Hasbro
Game Night Facebook page in March, geocache, a verb meaning to seek
items by means of a GPS device as part of a game, faced 15 other popular
choices in an online showdown from April 2-10, during which it bested
runner-up word zen and a selection of other fan favorite words including
bitcoin, cosplay and ew.
"English is an evolving language," explained Peter Sokolowski, Editor at
Large at Merriam-Webster. "The fact is, words enter common usage before
they enter the dictionary. We've been watching geocache for some time,
and the fact that SCRABBLE lovers want to add it to the list of playable
words strengthens the evidence that this is a word that people know and
use. It's the perfect addition to the thousands of words that will be
added when we release the new edition of The Official SCRABBLE
Players Dictionary this summer."
While other words selected for addition to the upcoming fifth edition of The
Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary will not be officially playable
until the new edition is published later this year, geocache will be an
eligible word right in time for National SCRABBLE Day on April 13. The
new word will also be playable in the upcoming National School SCRABBLE
Championship in April and the National SCRABBLE Tournament in August.
Merriam-Webster's Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary is the
official dictionary for English-language SCRABBLE in the United
States and Canada. The updated fifth edition will be available wherever
books are sold in August 2014. The selected word will also be available
to play later this year in the digital versions of SCRABBLE on Facebook,
iPhone, iPad, and Android from Electronic Arts.
Coming this fall, the SCRABBLE brand will also introduce the new
SCRABBLE Electronic Scoring game. The new game makes scoring easy and
automatic with a handheld electronic scoring unit. Simply play a word on
the board, dial-in the score and hit enter. No pen, paper or dedicated
scorekeeper required! The SCRABBLE electronic scoring unit also includes
a timer option for faster gameplay.
For more information on SCRABBLE, go to hasbro.com/SCRABBLE.
For more information on Merriam-Webster and The Official
SCRABBLE Players Dictionary, visit merriam-webster.com/SCRABBLE.
Hasbro,
Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company dedicated to
fulfilling the fundamental need for play for children and families
through the creative expression of the Company's world class brand
portfolio, including TRANSFORMERS, MONOPOLY, PLAY-DOH, MY LITTLE PONY,
MAGIC: THE GATHERING, NERF and LITTLEST PET SHOP. From toys and games,
to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a
comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global
customers with innovative play and entertainment experiences, in a
variety of forms and formats, anytime and anywhere. The Company's Hasbro
Studios develops and produces television programming for more than 180
markets around the world, and for the U.S. on Hub Network, part of a
multi-platform joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications
(NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK). Through the company's deep commitment to
corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is
helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and
to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families
every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of
the "World's Most Ethical Companies" and is ranked as one of Corporate
Responsibility Magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens." Learn more at www.hasbro.com.
Merriam-Webster Inc. For more than 150 years, in print and now in
digital media, Merriam-Webster has been America's leading and
most-trusted provider of language information. Each month, our Web sites
and apps offer guidance to tens of millions of visitors. In print, our
publications include Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary (among
the best-selling books in American history) and newly published
dictionaries for English-language learners. All Merriam-Webster products
and services are backed by the largest team of professional dictionary
editors and writers in America, and one of the largest in the world. For
more information, visit www.Merriam-Webster.com.
SCRABBLE is a trademark of Hasbro in the United States and Canada
©2014, Hasbro
HASGP
Hunter PR
Caitlin Leddy, 212-679-6600 ext.281
cleddy@hunterpr.com
or
Hasbro
Nicole
Agnello, 401-727-5947
nicole.agnello@hasbro.com
Source: Hasbro, Inc.
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