LOL now you are dissing Merriam Webster??? Some people just cannot tolerate being challenged...I apologize for even replying.
You have shown me that you are obviously a very erudite poster having inserted a Latin phrase* in your reply; you know far more than Merriam Webster.
*Though I would disagree.
As my millennial who took AP Latin for 2 years would say, “Whatever.”
Returning the due respect...
It's not as if the scientific method offers any answers. In matters of proper use of language, argumentum ad verecundiam is all we have.
Se non è vero, è ben trovato.