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Caucus: a cant word of the Americans in the March 2019 update
There are perhaps few political terms more idiosyncratically American than caucus. In 1818, the English writer Sydney Smith referred to it as ‘the cant word of the Americans for the…
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Our present to you: purchase the OED for £90
To celebrate the OED’s 90th birthday, we are pleased to offer annual OED subscriptions at a reduced rate of £90 for the duration of the birthday year.
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WWI revised words list
Revised words ammo, n. anti-aircraft, adj. and n. Anzac, n. archducal, adj. archducate, n. archduchess, n. archduchy, n. archduke, n. archdukedom, n. Archibald, n. Archie, n. Archie, v. armistice, n….
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John Simpson, Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, to retire
Oxford University Press today announced that John Simpson, Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), will retire from his post in October 2013. John, whose pioneering leadership has seen…
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Early Grey: The results of the OED Appeal on Earl Grey tea
Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey (1764–1845), was born on 13 March. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the early 1830s, but is most famous today for…
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Volcanos and bluestockings in the OED
Within the dictionary offices, we refer to this newly revised and updated batch as the blue batch, as blue is the leading headword. Colour words are often big entries, involving…
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Dating Middle English evidence in the OED
Examples of dating styles found for Middle English evidence in OED3 The following examples give a quick summary of the different dating styles found for Middle English evidence in OED3,…
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Appeals update: DIY and Ironman
DIY: antedated by 1 year Our editors were looking for evidence earlier than 1955 for DIY (meaning do it yourself). ‘Hugo’ provided an example from a year earlier, from an…
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Oxford University Press announces partnership with Poetry by Heart
Oxford University Press announced today that it is partnering with The Poetry Archive to support Poetry by Heart, a new national poetry competition in England which will see thousands of…
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Results from our earliest appeals
In October, the Oxford English Dictionary announced the launch of OED Appeals, a major online initiative that involves the public in tracing the history of English words. Using a dedicated…
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