Editing Merriam-Webster (section)

===20th century===
Since the 1940s, the company has released several specialized dictionaries, language aides, and other references. In 1961, Merriam overhauled the dictionary again, publishing ''[[Webster's Third New International Dictionary|Webster's Third New International]]'', edited by [[Philip Babcock Gove|Philip B. Gove]], whose revisions sparked public controversy. Many of the changes were in formatting, omitting needless [[punctuation]], or avoiding complete sentences when a phrase was sufficient. Others more controversial revisions signaled a shift from [[linguistic prescriptivism]] and towards [[Linguistic description|describing]] American English as it was used at that time.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title = The Definition of a Dictionary|url = http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2015/01/merriam_webster_dictionary_what_should_an_online_dictionary_look_like.html|newspaper=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date = January 12, 2015|access-date = July 12, 2015|issn = 1091-2339|first = Stefan|last = Fatsis}}</ref>

In 1964, the company became a subsidiary of [[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]]

In 1983, in the ninth edition of the ''Collegiate'' titled ''Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary'' (WNNCD), the ''Collegiate'' adopted changes which distinguish it as a separate entity rather than merely an abridgment of the ''Third New International'', whose main text has remained virtually unrevised since 1961. Some proper names were returned to the word list, including names of [[Knights of the Round Table]]. The most notable change was the inclusion of the date of the first known citation of each word, to document its entry into [[English language|English]].

In 1983, after losing the right to exclusive use of the name Webster, its name was changed to Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, which was first reflected with publication of ''Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary''. Previous publications used '''A Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' as a subtitle.