Webster's Word of the Month -- "Fascist"

[a.saccus]

In case you weren't aware of it -- I sure wasn't -- Webster's Words of the Month for September are "fascist" and "fascism". After reading them, there does not seem to have been any lexicographical drift or distortion yet, and I reproduce the entry here for your perusal. There were a couple of things in the entry I hadn't know before. The original entry can be found at:

http://www.word.com/unabridged/archives/2006/09/word_history_of_4.html

THE MERRIAM-WEBSTER ONLINE NEWSLETTER

September 2006

Word History of the Month: "fascist" and "fascism"

When President Bush used the word "fascist" to describe the recent terrorist plots, the word and the related word "fascism" immediately became among the most looked-up words on the Merriam-Webster Web site. We'll stay away from any political debate about these words, but we'll gladly get into the history of the words.

Main Entry: fas