Word of the day: webinar

Those of you who are internet-savvy will doubtless be familiar with the word 'webinar'. However I've chosen it as word of the day because it is new enough not to appear in many dictionaries, Google has just invited me to attend one, and I like the sound of it. So there.

'Webinar' is a portmanteau word, so it is made up of the sounds and meanings of two other words - in this case 'web' and 'seminar'. As you might expect, a webinar is a type of internet conference, which may be highly interactive or may be more like a presentation.

Another internet portmanteau I am sure you are familiar with is 'blog', a contraction of 'weblog' – which of course is a blend of 'web' and log'. It's interesting that my edition of the OED lists 'weblog' but not 'blog'. Dictionary writers must have a hard time with all these web words...