Will "pugnacious" be the word of the year?

Merriam-Webster OnLine, the Web unit of the Springfield-based dictionary folks, is ginning up its annual search for the word that best sums up the year about to end.

Visitors to the Merriam-Webster website can help make the choice for 2007 by voting on the site, Merriam-Webster said, and last year, the overwhelming majority of voters chose "truthiness," a word made popular by talk-show host Stephen Colbert. (Click to this link to see Merriam-Webster's entry on "truthiness.")

This year, visitors to Merriam-Webster OnLine may choose from a list culled from 2007's most frequently look-up words on Merriam-Webster OnLine and and from Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary, Merriam-Webster said.

One candidate for the 2007 word of the year is "pugnacious," which former President Gerald R. Ford used to describe Vice President Dick Cheney, Merriam-Webster said.

Click on this link for more information about 2007 candidates.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)