Google will rear its head as a verb in the next version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary among 165,000 other words in the 11th edition of the popular dictionary.  The official definition in the entry will be “to use the Google search engine to obtain information…on the World Wide Web."  It is important to note the word is lower-case in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary – the Oxford English Dictionary recently added the word in upper-case form to its online edition. 

People who keep track of such things note that “google” entered the dictionary remarkably quickly, reaching the pages of the dictionary after only 5 years since its first use in a New York Post article. On average it takes 10 to 20 years for a word to enter daily use according to a Los Angeles Times article.

The entry, however, could cause problems for the search company according to some experts.  “Google risks losing the value of its corporate trademark,” branding consultant Rob Frankel told the LA Times. For now, Google has taken the news in stride telling the paper it approved of the word’s use in reference to Google’s services, but not to web search in general.

Representatives for Merriam-Webster went on to say that they are aware of the possible brand erosion that can occur when a trademarked company enters the pages of a dictionary, but they are taking steps to combat this. The company notes that it specifies in the entry that “google” is derived from the trademark of the popular internet search engine.

When the latest edition of the dictionary is released in the fall, “google” will snuggle in between the definitions for “goofy” and “googly-eyed.”