I’ve never seen Americana Music Association Executive Director Jed Hilly so excited about a reference book. From the Americana Music Assocation website:
“Merriam-Webster announced today, as reported by the Associated Press, the inclusion of the musical definition of the word Americana to its Collegiate Dictionary. Americana joins Tweet, m-commerce and around 100 other words whose use is now widely recognized enough to be a part of today’s lexicon. According to the dictionary’s editors Americana music is defined as:
a genre of American music having roots in early folk and country music
Americana, as a musical term, has been under consideration longer than the 12 years the Americana Music Association has been in existence. Merriam-Webster’s inclusion of the word is based on widespread general written use, longevity, and an easily discernible definition.
“I’m thrilled. It’s affirmation of what we have been saying for over a decade” said Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the Americana Music Association. “To have an authority like Merriam Webster do the research and determine that our society recognizes the Americana genre is really great.”It’s about time. Next step: The thesaurus.