Quiz: Myth-busting the OED

Words come into the English language in all manner of ways. The Oxford English Dictionary’s mission is to record all of these stories, capturing their development as they continue to unfold. Take the mythbusting quiz to see how well you know the OED!

We hope you enjoyed the quiz, and busted some myths. At the OED we aim to record English as it is spoken all around the world, and provide a permanent record of a words place in the English language. The OED is intended to be descriptive, not prescriptive; its content should be viewed as an objective reflection of English language usage, not a subjective collection of usage ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’. The Dictionary aims to cover the full spectrum of English language usage, from formal to slang, as it has evolved over time.

The opinions and other information contained in the OED blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.