Bloggers are declaring it the end of the English language and a dark day for linguists. How can the definition of the word "literally" literally not be literal? (Watch: "Slang Hunters.")

An employee at Words Worth Books, an Ontario bookstore, wrote on Twitter that "one of our staff was so upset about this, he had to go lie down. #literally." "We did it guys! We killed English!" tweeted someone with the handle @magnus72.

One of our staff was so upset about this, he had to go lie down. #literally http://t.co/fMnKIiqent

We did it guys! We killed English! pic.twitter.com/qawK62jBXo

But these quibblers are wrong. The un-literal definition of "literally" is not new. It has been used for at