How do new words get into the dictionary?

August 20, 2020 12:00 am • Last Updated: August 20, 2020 8:32 pm

By Peter Huoppi and Rick Koster, Day staff

We talk with Joshua Pendragon, an independent researcher for the Oxford English Dictionary, about how new words are added to the dictionary, the challenges of researching obscure words, and the evolving nature of language.

Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.

STORIES THAT MAY INTEREST YOU

Nonprofit Avalonia will open walking trails in Montville and Bozrah

Bozrah ― Avalonia Land Conservancy President Dennis Main stood last week at a marker near the line between Bozrah and Montville, on the conservancy’s recent 159-acre land purchase. About 30 feet in fr...

Birthing babies: Mother’s Day tales of lives in the balance

New London ― Amee Wilson’s son, Levi Dargan, turned 3 weeks old Friday. His mother expects to take him home from Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in about a week. Weighing 3 pounds, 10 ounces when deliver...

Beach bummer: New London to seek new management options for Ocean Beach Park

New London ― Stung by several back-to-back years of slumping revenues at Ocean Beach Park totaling more than $1 million ― losses the city must cover ― officials for the first time in 25 years will ent...

Editorial Cartoon - May 11, 2024

...

How do new words get into the dictionary?

An altar boy in Newport, Rhode Island

Bee rescuer Patrick Gaudin

Reporting on church sex abuse cases for over 20 years

Dictionary researcher Joshua Pendragon

Providing victims of church abuse some justice and accountability

Log In

How do new words get into the dictionary?

An altar boy in Newport, Rhode Island

Bee rescuer Patrick Gaudin

Reporting on church sex abuse cases for over 20 years

Dictionary researcher Joshua Pendragon

Providing victims of church abuse some justice and accountability