Showing 1-10 of 139 entries
“Quarterly updates”
From the humble chip to the finest flour: an update on etymology
Among the words in this latest quarterly release there are quite a few etymologies of common words with long histories in English. Among those that date back to the earliest…
Find out more
Unmentionables, trousers coughs, and words for the riotously drunk: the December 2021 update to the HTOED
Pants, kecks, rammies, trews, unmentionables… These are just a few of the words in the Historical Thesaurus of the OED (HTOED) category trousers, which usefully complements the newly revised OED…
Find out more
Tracking the history of the future through words
A historical lexicographer’s perspective on reviewing the OED’s coverage of vocabulary relating to climate change and sustainability. In 2021, the OED embarked on a project to broaden and review its…
Find out more
The language of climate change and environmental sustainability: the OED October 2021 update
Over the course of the last 30 years or so, the OED’s editors have researched and recorded many of the best-known terms related to climate change, such as global warming,…
Find out more
Whoop-de-do! It’s the OED September 2021 update
Whooooooo-eeeee, it’s update time again. We’re coming in hot with over 837 new entries and senses to the definitive record of the English language, and there’s a lot to take…
Find out more
Working some lexicographical magic: the revision of witch
As we move from summer to autumn and Halloween appears on the horizon, it is apt that a number of the words for the latest OED Online quarterly release have…
Find out more
Malignant monsters and the limbo in the HTOED
Please note that a subscription to the OED is required to access the Historical Thesaurus . Learn about subscription options, or, if your library or institution offers access to the…
Find out more
Daebak! The OED gets a K-update
K-pop, K-drama, K-beauty, K-food, K-style—these days, everything seems to be getting prefixed with a K- as South Korea’s popular culture continues to rise in international popularity. South Korean director Bong…
Find out more
A carnival of words: Caribbean English in the OED September 2021 update
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the publication of the Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, a landmark work of World English lexicography that continues to be the most authoritative…
Find out more
Speed read: the revision of fast and slow
Published this quarter are the revised entries for fast and slow. Although fast and slow are antonyms the entries, and those for derived words, do not exactly mirror each other,…
Find out more
