A book of words

   

    Following on from this post*, if you're at all interested in the history of a book no home should be without you may like to know that The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Peter Gilliver is published today.

    The author is one of the Dictionary's most experienced lexicographers, and his account of its history takes it from its origins in the middle of the nineteenth century to the present day. Drawing on previously unexamined archival material and eyewitness testimony, "the book explores the cultural background from which the idea of a comprehensive historical dictionary of English emerged, the lengthy struggles to bring this concept to fruition, and the development of the book from the appearance of the first printed fascicle in 1884 to the launching of the Dictionary as an online database in 2000 and beyond. It also examines the evolution of the lexicographers' working methods, and provides much information about the people - many of them remarkable individuals - who have contributed to the project over the last century and a half."

                                                    ~~~~~

    Language and its usage are ever-evolving, of course, and Oxford Dictionaries keep their finger on the linguistic pulse. Their #OneWordMap is tracking global trends and is currently asking people to submit their least favourite English word! You can do so here**.

    

 

*Peter Gilliver praises Elisabeth Murray's biography of her grandfather and says that her book was recommended to him by way of preliminary reading when he joined the staff of the Dictionary.

 

**Edited to add: as Toffeeapple reports below in comments, the map has been taken down due to misuse.

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Comments

[Mary]

When I was at university, I used to drag out my two-volume, tiny-tiny font OED and peruse it for hours, particularly when I was working on Emily Dickinson's poetry. Loved the discoveries made within its covers. It sounds as if the making the book is likely just as captivating.

[Cornflower]

You're right about the discoveries, Mary!
I'm looking forward to reading 'The Making of the OED' having read the Murray biography and knowing a little about some of the other lexicographers such as Tolkien and William Craigie (another amazing man).

[Toffeeapple]

The OED has removed the feature due to misuse - how very sad.

[Cornflower]

Yes, very sad. Why can't people just do the right thing?

[Gillie]

Hear, hear! Wonderful though the Internet is for a quick reference, nothing beats looking at random though a reference book, or maybe with serious intent, especially a dictionary!