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The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
A country of northwest South America on the Pacific Ocean. Once part of the Inca Empire, it was conquered by the Spanish in 1534 and later became subject to Peru and New Granada. The area achieved independence from Spain in 1822 but formed a part of Greater Colombia until 1830, when it became a separate country. Quito is the capital and Guayaquil the largest city.
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.