Words from the 1930s
The history of cool as a general term of approval is a patchy affair. It emerged in African American English by the early 1930s, perhaps as a development of an…
Find out moreWelcome to the OED blog
Lexicographers at war
A few weeks ago a photograph came to light showing an Oxford English Dictionary lexicographer on active service during the First World War: the only such photo known to us….
Find out more
100 words that define the First World War
Discover the ways in which the events of the First World War left their mark on the English language with our interactive timeline.
Find out more
Building dictionaries with crowdsourcing: sign up for live webinar
Join us on Thursday 29 November to find out how a dictionary is created: now and in the past, without the help of technology.
Find out more
‘There remains something extraordinary’: David Whitley on the OED
Tony Harrison begins his major poem ‘V’ with a quote from the 1980s leader of the Miners’ Union, Arthur Scargill. Scargill says that his father “still reads the dictionary every…
Find out more
Words from the 1920s
In the decade following the war to end war (a coinage first recorded in 1914) there was frivolity in the air, but also a residue of tension, of anxiety, that…
Find out more
Philippine English in the October 2018 update
In its latest update, the Oxford English Dictionary published several new words from Philippine English. These new additions are notable for having been brought to the dictionary’s attention by Filipino…
Find out more
Baking the OED: Kate Young’s ‘formerly’ and ‘subsequently’ cheesecakes
Cheesecake, n. 1.Formerly: †a tart or pie containing a mixture originally including cheese, later usually curds or cream, eggs, sugar, butter, and various flavourings (obsolete). Subsequently: a dessert or sweet…
Find out more
New words notes for October 2018
The latest update of the OED adds more than 1400 new words, senses, and phrases, including the selection of items described in greater detail below. The full list of entries…
Find out more
A look under the bonnet in the October 2018 update
It’s a routine feature of words in the English language that over time they begin to demonstrate a number of figurative or extended uses of the original meaning, which then…
Find out more
