How do dictionary makers keep track of similarly suffixed words, like those ending in -ism, -graphy, -ness, or -ology. With a computer, it’s simple, but how did they do it before the computing age. Starting in the 1950s, lexicographers at Merriam-Webster typed all of the words in the dictionary out.
Starting in the 1950s, lexicographers at Merriam-Webster typed all of the words in the dictionary out.