Dictionaries. Does anyone even use print dictionaries anymore? You can easily look up a word in an online dictionary. And if you are reading on a Kindle, for example, you can just press on a word and get its meaning. But I bet most of you still own a print dictionary or two. I have two on my bookshelves. One is very, very old. I received it as an award when I “graduated” from 6th grade, presented to me and three other students for outstanding achievement in Scholarship, Leadership, Character, and Service. It is Webster’s New American Dictionary, copyright 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1947. And I actually hadn’t been born as of these copyright dates. The other dictionary I own is also pretty old, although not as old and yellowed as the first. It is Webster’s New World College Dictionary, copyright 1996, 1994, 1991, 1988.
How old and quaint some of the words in those dictionaries must be: no social media, cell phone, texting, or mansplaining entries in them. Dictionaries are not as static as one might think. They are regularly updated with new words and phrases. And they are not all updated with the same new words and phrases, although there is obviously some overlap. One of the best books about updating dictionaries is a book I have recommended before – Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper. It, too, is a bit outdated, as it focuses on updating print dictionaries.
Although all dictionaries update regularly, I am going to talk about the OED, the mother of all dictionaries: The Oxford English Dictionary, which is updated with thousands of new words every year. It is updated quarterly. New entries are added, but subentries under the main entries are also added and revised. Here are some recent updates (September 2021) to the OED.
New entries
anti-vax and anti-vaxxer (adj. n) – Describes someone against vaccinations; someone who is against vaccinations.
bants (n) -Playfully teasing or mocking remarks exchanged with another person or group, esp. among men; banter.
bassa-bassa (n) -Trouble, commotion; a noisy altercation; a fight.
brata (n) -An extra amount or small gift added to a purchase by a seller, esp. in a market, to encourage the customer to return.
brown-nosing (n) -Excessive or insincere flattery, esp. with the aim of gaining favour or advancement. (I find it hard to believe this entry is new!)
bulgogi (n) -In Korean cookery: a dish of thin slices of beef or pork which are marinated then grilled or stir-fried.
cardioversion (n) -The treatment of atrial fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias by means of a direct-current shock to the chest. (Also hard to believe this one is new.)
Conchy Joe (n) -A Bahamian who is white or of mixed black and white descent.
I just noticed that there are no verbs on my list. I would think there would be fewer verbs than nouns and adjectives. I mean, it has all been done before, right?
New subentries
These words and phrases are additional subentries for the word in parentheses.
Asian miracle (Asian) (n, adj) -The rapid economic growth of certain East Asian countries (esp. Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea) in the second half of the 20th century.
Asian pear (Asian) (n, adj) -The nashi pear, Pyrus pyrifolia, native to eastern Asia.
bath bomb (bath) (n) – A ball or other-shaped item made of a perfumed substance or mixture which dissolves when placed in water (typically with effervescence).
to be a beast (beast) (n, adj) – Colloquial. To be someone who is exceptionally gifted, adept, persistent, or hard-working.
big tech (big) (adj, n) -Major, multinational technology companies considered collectively as a sector of industry; frequently as a modifier.
caravan tea (caravan) (n) -Tea transported overland from China to Russia rather than by sea, commonly thought to acquire a distinctive and superior flavour.
cardiac output (cardiac) (n) – The quantity of blood pumped by the heart in a given period of time (typically measured in litres per minute). (New phrase??)
cardiganed (cardigan) (adj) – Wearing a cardigan. ( are vested, shorted, pantsed, skirted, shoed, and socked similar words?)
to catch one’s arse (catch) (v) – Caribbean: to suffer or undergo misfortune, hardship, or difficulty.
conjure bag (conjure) (n) -A charm consisting of a small bag or pouch containing an assortment of objects such as herbs, hair, coins, etc., intended to be used to ward off evil.
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Yes, I certainly do. I have four English word dictionaries that I consult regularly. Couldn’t work without them.
Print dictionaries? Good!!!
Yes, I do use print dictionaries regularly.
Good! Unfortunately, I cannot say the same!
What a great article Arlene! Languages are alive and constantly changing according to what is going on in our world. I guess a lot of the new vocabulary are a reflection of the pandemic and things associated with it that have changed our lives so profoundly ove the past couple of years.
It’s always fun discovering new words!
Thank you! The new words will be a series, so there will be more. Speaking of pandemic words, I did a post on new words of 2020, and the pandemic words were a big part of it. Here is the link to that post:
https://bigwords101.com/2021/blog/special-edition-2020-words-of-the-year/
What a great topic, Arlene! Well, since I’m a writer, you have to believe that I have a dictionary or two at my fingertips. The one I use most often (which is many times each day) is my (online) Advanced English Dictionary. It answers a plethora of more or less difficult questions. I keep the app on my computer taskbar to use anytime I need a fast, excellent word meaning and etymology (important to me!)
My next (#2) go-to dictionary is called English Through the Ages. (I write historical novels and I absolutely hate to read an historical novel of any genre that uses a pile of modern slang.) I also use the (#3) Online Etymology Dictionary, but only when my AED or English Through the Ages fails me. The next dictionary in line of usage (#4) is my Barnett Dictionary of Etymology. The very next in line behind it (#5) is Websters New International Dictionary, which is in three volumes, has print too small for my once perfect vision, and is unabridged. I also keep a (#6) Gaelic Dictionary, a (#7) Larousse Concise Dictionary, a (#8) really cool little book called Jackspeak: A Guide to British Slang and Usage. Really, it’s all about language used by British sailors. It gets “salty” now and then! I also use an (#9) Oxford English Idioms book (written in dictionary form), and an Oxford American Writer’s Dictionary. From my salad days, I have a (#10) Roget’s Thesaurus in Dictionary Form, an (#11) Oxford College Dictionary, and (#12) a Stedman’s Medical Dictionary 21st Edition. The final one I turn to, though rarely, is (#13) called the Farlex Idioms and Slang Dictionary. It’s not my favorite, and frankly, I’m not sure why I’ve kept it so long. My other dictionaries usually answer most all of my questions. But discarding a book is an almost hopeless endeavor for me.
Yes, if I could afford to invest in one, I would purchase the OED. I doubt that I would care to have a volume of the OED, however, that used current slang and idioms. I left it behind sometime in the late ’70s or early ’80s. But the complete OED is the one I’d head for if it just didn’t cost so much!
So, considering how often I use my printed dictionaries, I would never, ever eliminate them from my bookshelves. Again, thanks a million for this topic. I literally love it!
~Cate
I literally love all those reference books you own! My favorite reference is the Gregg Manual, which is grammar. I am definitely impressed by all those dictionaries you use for research
Yes, I do. I’ve worked as a copy editor for 40-plus years. My default dictionary is Canadian Oxford, second edition (2004), hard copy. Not available online, except by institutional subscription to the whole Oxford Reference package (and the excellent app went dark years ago). I also have a print copy of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate, 11th edition, an artifact of my first full-time job as a copy editor. Both tomes occupy a corner of the coffee table where I usually work. I do use online dictionaries, in particular Lexico (published by Oxford University Press), mainly for neologisms and transitions from open or hyphenated to one word. For style references, I have hard copies of most, because I don’t need to refer to them often—but I went fully online with the Chicago Manual of Style after the 15th edition.
For more about Canadian Oxford, see my piece in the Literary Review of Canada: https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2019/11/word-break/
Thanks for the comment and the information! I still have the old hardcopy of the Chicago Manual of Style, which I don’t use much anymore since I gave up copyediting. Online dictionaries are definitely convenient. In keeping with hard copy, my grammar books sell many, many more copies in paperback than e-book.
That’s because they’re so useful. (No brown-nosing meant, either!) I use them nearly as often as I use my dictionaries.
I think cardiac output has been in use for many years. It was in use in 2003 when I had a heart attack.
I know. I guess it wasn’t in the dictionary. I have heard it for decades myself.
Well, Arlene, you just have to own the correct dictionary to have heard the word before. “Cardiac output” has been in use for decades (more than I care to confess, too!)
I guess the Oxford English Dictionary is behind the times!
You’re right, Sam. It has. (By profession, I am a registered nurse, though retired.)
The term cardiac output is not new at all. It would be interesting to find out why it was included now. Has it been used in non medical writings of late? Anyone in medicine is certainly familiar with the term and it’s meaning.
Perhaps it was just overlooked as a phrase. I know. I have heard of it for decades, when I used to do medical transcription.