{"id":2520109,"date":"2025-12-11T11:48:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T16:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/merriam-webster-suffers-humiliation-after-smug-attempt-to-correct-a-classic-christmas-hymn\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T11:49:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T16:49:00","slug":"merriam-webster-suffers-humiliation-after-smug-attempt-to-correct-a-classic-christmas-hymn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/merriam-webster-suffers-humiliation-after-smug-attempt-to-correct-a-classic-christmas-hymn\/","title":{"rendered":"Merriam-Webster Suffers Humiliation After Smug Attempt to Correct a Classic Christmas Hymn"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmerriam-webster-suffers-humiliation-after-smug-attempt-to-correct-a-classic-christmas-hymn%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2520109&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Merriam-Webster recently sparked controversy by attempting to &#8220;correct&#8221; teh classic Christmas hymn &#8220;What Child Is This?&#8221; through a social media post suggesting the phrase should be &#8220;Which Child Is This?&#8221; rather. This correction was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fascist-mi-ag-dana-nessel-threatens-lawyer-who-released-results-of-forensic-exam-of-16-dominion-voting-machines-in-antrim-co\/\" title=\"\u201cFascist\u201d MI AG Dana Nessel Threatens Lawyer Who Released Results Of Forensic Exam of 16 Dominion Voting Machines In Antrim Co.\">widely criticized<\/a> as both smug and theologically inaccurate. Critics pointed out that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-tale-of-two-universities-indiana-university-sued-for-vaccine-mandate-university-of-wisconsin-declines-mandate\/\" title=\"A Tale Of Two Universities: Indiana University Sued For Vaccine Mandate, University Of Wisconsin Declines Mandate\">original wording<\/a>,as found in the King James Bible,uses &#8220;What&#8221; in the sense of &#8220;What kind of,&#8221; making the phrase an ontological question about the nature of the child-Jesus Christ. Theology experts and users defended the conventional language, explaining that the hymn inquires about the identity and divine nature of Christ, not merely asking which child he is. The hymn, written in 1865 by William Chatterton Dix and set to the tune of &#8220;Greensleeves,&#8221; remains faithful to this theological meaning. The episode concluded with many mocking Merriam-Webster for its misunderstanding and advising that such matters be reviewed by learned church members before attempting corrections.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Merriam-Webster tried to correct the wording of a classic Christmas hymn recently, but ended up with eggnog on its face.<\/p>\n<p>In a now<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-covid-19-flip-flops-a-timeline\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s COVID...19 Flip...Flops: A Timeline\">-deleted post<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a> X, &ldquo;America&rsquo;s Most Trusted Dictionary&rdquo; tried to edit the Christmas hymn &ldquo;What Child Is This?&rdquo; by posting &ldquo;Which* Child Is This?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The supposed arbiter of language obviously intended the Christmas-themed post to be a not-so-subtle nod to fellow grammar warriors who love to correct their compatriots.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But the effort came off as not only incredibly smug, but biblically incorrect, as well.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>One user called out the organization, citing the Gospel of Matthew.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Wrong,&rdquo; the person responded. &ldquo;&lsquo;What child is this?&rsquo; [means] &lsquo;What [kind of] child is this?&#8217;&rdquo; He added that Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s suggested correction, &ldquo;WHICH child is this&rdquo; &hellip; &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t make sense.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The writer was steeped in the [King James Version of the Bible] and is echoing its language: &lsquo;What manner of man is this?&rsquo; (Matt. 8:27)&rdquo; he concluded.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Wrong.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What child is this?&rdquo;=&ldquo;What [kind of] child is this?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Which Child is this, who, laid to rest . . . This is . . . &rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t make sense.<\/p>\n<p>The writer was steeped in the KJV and is echoing its language:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What manner of man is this?&rdquo; (Matt. 8:27) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ublz2fGqns\">https:\/\/t.co\/Ublz2fGqns<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Justin Taylor (@between2worlds) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/between2worlds\/status\/1998955966432518313?\">December 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Theology Professor Jake Rainwater clarified why the carol used that particular language when referring to our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Wrong, wrong, wrong. The hymn is asking an ontological question, &ldquo;What kind of child is this?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The hymn answers, &ldquo;This is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The identity of the child broaches his very nature as the God-Man, not merely his human identity. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/l1mF1EWJNQ\">https:\/\/t.co\/l1mF1EWJNQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jake Rainwater (@JakeRainwater) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JakeRainwater\/status\/1998528774384861328?\">December 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Wrong, wrong, wrong. The hymn is asking an ontological question, &lsquo;What kind of child is this?&rsquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The hymn answers, &lsquo;This is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing.&rsquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The identity of the child broaches his very nature as the God-Man, not merely his human identity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/hymnary.org\/text\/what_child_is_this_who_laid_to_rest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hymn<\/a> was written in 1865 by William Chatterton Dix and was later paired with the ancient tune of &ldquo;Greensleeves,&rdquo; which dates to the 16th century.<\/p>\n<p>The lyrics read,<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>What Child is this, who, laid to rest<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>  On Mary&rsquo;s lap is sleeping? <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>  While shepherds watch are keeping?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The chorus answers,<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>This, this is Christ, the King,<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>  Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Haste, haste to bring Him laud,<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>  The Babe, the Son of Mary!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A third user felt inspired to put his criticism of Merriam-Webster more plainly.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I regret to inform you our modern dictionary is illiterate,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I regret to inform you our modern dictionary is illiterate. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2yrpcTkht4\">https:\/\/t.co\/2yrpcTkht4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dcn. Garlick, Chancellor &#127483;&#127462; (@HarrisonGarlic1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HarrisonGarlic1\/status\/1998946072169951571?\">December 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The dictionary publishers wanted to &ldquo;fix&rdquo; the hymn, but ended up being corrected themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Whoever wrote that post does not seem to understand Christianity.<\/p>\n<p>Next time, they should have a member of a local church review it before proceeding.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merriam-Webster recently attempted to revise the wording of a well-known Christmas carol but ended up embarrassing itself. In a now-removed post on social media platform X, the dictionary, known as &#8220;America&#8217;s Most Trusted Dictionary,&#8221; tried to change the title of the hymn &#8220;What Child Is This?&#8221; to &#8220;Which* Child Is This?&#8221; This move, likely aimed at grammar enthusiasts, came across as both arrogant and theologically inaccurate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2520110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/What-Child-is-This.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[68647,23717,68648,68646,44311],"class_list":["post-2520109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-christmas-hymn","tag-humiliation","tag-language-correction","tag-merriam-webster","tag-viral-incident"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/What-Child-is-This.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2520109"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2520113,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520109\/revisions\/2520113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2520110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2520109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2520109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2520109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}