The most authoritative publication on the English language is the Oxford English Dictionary or OED and it has been since 1884. It scrupulously cites word histories and usages in addition to concise definitions. There are 13 volumes along with a variety of updates and online news. For example, there’s a raft of new words in the December 2023 Update published today, including gradgrindian, from the character Thomas Gradgrind, a school master, in Dickens’s novel Hard Times. He’s cold, unfeeling and ridged, concerned only with facts and numbers - "The speaker's obstinate carriage, square coat, square legs, square shoulders - nay, his very neckcloth, trained to take him by the throat...". With Gradgrind, Dickens was satirizing Scottish philosopher James Mill. I’ve relied on the OED since I was 20, but I’m confused by today’s reference for a simple reason.
© 2024 John Oliver
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