The Columnist Manifesto

Mr. Verb reports here that Google has pressured a leading German dictionary to delete an entry defining "to google" as a generic term meaning to look up on the internet.

Why do people say "google it" when they mean "look it up on a web browser"? Because Google is the dominant web browser. It's a good product/service, and it's a fun and easy word to say. Much better than "ask-dot-com-it" or "metacrawlit."

So why would Google fight getting such a nice tribute in a dictionary?

Apparently, a brand name can lose trademark protection if it becomes a generic word. Talk about being hoist on the petard of your own success!

But Google is being pretty dumb here. The appearance of the verb "to google" in the dictionary is not what makes the word generic. That's simply one form of evidence of language usage. The real proof is in the spoken language itself -- the millions of conversations of ordinary people. And you can prove that without a dictionary. Is Google going to sue all of us to stop us from saying "google it"?

As Mr. Verb himself would say, "language changes -- deal with it!"

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Hey, wait a minute... links to Mr. Verb??? That's right! Columnist Manifesto commenter extraordinaire Mr. Verb has taken his act and started his own blog! Check it out.

Again, that's Verb... Mr. Verb.