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How Dictionaries Decide

Three short lessons on lexicography: why use, not authority, puts a word in a dictionary, how editors gather the evidence, and the famous word that never existed.

Spark & Whetstone · sparkwhetstone.org/learn/how-dictionaries-decide · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Answers are at the end, so you can try each question first.

Lesson 1. Use makes a word

Most modern dictionaries describe the language people use rather than decide what is allowed. A word goes in when it is used widely, by many writers, over a long enough time.

So "is it a real word?" usually means "do enough people use it, in enough places, for long enough?" A dictionary records the answer; it does not grant permission.

Question. What usually gets a new word into a modern English dictionary?

  1. A vote by language experts.
  2. Wide use by many writers over time.
  3. A request from the person who made it up.

Say it back. In your own words: who decides what a real word is?

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Lesson 2. Gathering the evidence

Dictionary editors collect examples of words in use, called citations: a sentence, where it appeared and when. For centuries this was done on paper slips; today it is mostly done with huge searchable collections of text.

A definition is written from the citations. If the examples show a word used two ways, the entry gets two senses.

Question. What is a citation, to a dictionary editor?

  1. A fine for misspelling.
  2. A real example of a word in use, with its source and date.
  3. The first definition of a word.

Say it back. Say it back: how is a definition written from evidence?

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Lesson 3. The word that never was

In the 1934 edition of Webster's New International Dictionary, the word "dord" appeared, meaning density. It was a mistake: a slip reading "D or d", the abbreviation for density, had been read as one word.

An editor noticed in 1939 and it was taken out of later printings. Ghost words like this are rare, but they show why evidence matters: "dord" had no citations at all.

Question. How did "dord" get into the dictionary?

  1. It was a popular slang word.
  2. A note reading "D or d" was mistaken for a word.
  3. It was a joke by the editors.

Say it back. In your own words: what would have caught "dord" sooner?

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At the table: A word on trial

Players: three or more, 12 or older. You'll need: a new or disputed word, phones or newspapers, and paper.

  1. Pick a word you are not sure is "real".
  2. Everyone hunts for three examples of it in use, with where and when.
  3. Lay the citations out. Is the use wide, varied and lasting?
  4. Rule together: in the dictionary, disputed, or not yet.

Answers

  1. Wide use by many writers over time. — Editors add a word when the evidence shows wide, lasting use.
  2. A real example of a word in use, with its source and date. — A citation is a real sentence showing the word in use, with where and when it appeared.
  3. A note reading "D or d" was mistaken for a word. — A slip reading "D or d" for density was taken as the word "dord".