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Posted on 07/12/2003 7:35:54 PM PDT by BenLurkin
It has an awe-inspiring story behind it and a major contributor whose insanity led him to commit murder and mutilate himself.
The work, however, is not fiction. It's a reference book - The Oxford English Dictionary, commonly known as the OED.
A revered resource for some and a conversation piece for others (did you know the slang word "diss" made its earliest known appearance in a rap song from 1980?), the Oxford English Dictionary stands as the most complete record of the English language from the ninth century to the present.
Begun in 1879 by the Philological Society in London, the final section of the 20-volume work was not finished until 1928 - 26 years after its original estimated completion date. (Having only reached as far as the word "ant" after five years of work, Professor James Murray and his colleagues later reconsidered their unrealistic 10-year schedule.)
The main editor of the mammoth project was Murray, a former schoolmaster and bank clerk who devoted his life to making what became a lexicographical milestone, only to die before its completion.
With definitions, etymologies and quotations, the dictionary was an attempt to "demonstrate the full range of characteristics of each and every word with a great degree of precision," wrote Simon Winchester in his true story of the OED, "The Professor and the Madman" (Harper Collins Publishers 1998).
Winchester tells the story of Murray, his colleagues and the odd tale of one of the estimated 2,000 contributors to the OED - Dr. William Chester Minor, an American surgeon and mentally ill murderer who sent nearly 10,000 definitions to the dictionary during its making. (Actually, the OED is still a work in progress, accepting updated submissions that reflect the ever-changing English language.)
After maintaining a close relationship via correspondence alone, Murray finally set out to meet Minor at his home, which he came to discover was Broodmoor, an English asylum for lunatics. Minor was committed after murdering a man while in a delusional, paranoid state. Making his room - with its barred windows - a haven of study, the well-to-do former Civil War captain and surgeon labored diligently on the dictionary and was recognized as one of its most instrumental contributors.
Background story aside, though, the OED is in itself a crucial treasure to scholars.
Charles MacQuarrie, assistant professor of English at California State University, Bakersfield, Antelope Valley campus, says he can't help but "gush" over the work.
More than 20 years ago, he bought his own two-volume compact edition of the OED.
Specializing in English, Saxon, Norse, Celtic and classics, MacQuarrie said he uses the reference every day. "I've used it so much, my eyes are actually used (to the micro print). I have trouble seeing regular-sized print," he said with a chuckle.
MacQuarrie is unabashed in his enthusiasm for the 75-year-old dictionary. "It's a beautiful thing," he said. "… it tracks the first use of a word all the way through, giving you citations if the meaning of the word is changed slightly; it shows you where that started to change."
MacQuarrie related how he enjoys finding the Greek mythological origins of many words.
"(The OED) connects with mythology, it connects with literature, it gives you all the citations and it gives you great etymology. … It's about my favorite book. I love the thing," he said.
Dorothy Williams, a professor of English at Antelope Valley College, said that her studies of the OED are for research and writing as well as personal interest.
"Sometimes I read it for fun, especially for slang usage of the Renaissance and to see the first instance of usage of a word.
"I refer students to it, but I think they find it daunting because of its sheer size. I find it most effective when I walk them over to the library and look things up with them. One particularly fun exercise was to look up euphemisms. How creative we English speakers get to avoid directly referring to something unpleasant or sexual," she said.
Fortunately, for those who are library-wary or short on space, the dictionary became a little less intimidating upon the release of the Second Edition CD-ROM version in 1992, as well as the OED Online in 2000, which enables subscribers of the site to perform quick searches.
"It's great for us. … It's much easier to use than the old hardback version," said MacQuarrie, despite his partiality to the printed version he bought while working in a bookstore in the 1970s.
"It gives you not just the surface (of a word)," he said, "but also the great depth, which makes it such a brilliant book. It was such a sacrifice on Murray's part. He worked so hard on this thing. It's an amazing scholarly project."
While many OED enthusiasts could make up parlor games using word derivatives from the OED, even those who would rather avoid looking up words are likely to see the 21,730 pages of painstaking work as a matchless endeavor. A never-ending biography of the living, ever-changing English language, the OED will continue to grow and endure; new research is always welcome.
For more information about the OED, visit www.oed.com.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
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I've read The Professor and the Madman. It's a good read and very informative about the way the OED was originally put together. Dr. Minor was an honest to goodness raving loon and a danger to himself and others in the classic sense - but Broadmoor (not Broodmoor) in those days could be the equivalent of a small (but very secure!) hotel for a gentleman of private means. Minor had two comfortable rooms and a large library.
But it takes a long time even for words to get into the supplement. So be patient.
The first copy-protected software CD I've ever seen.
Naturally I busted the protection; it used to be my hobby and I couldn't help myself.
--Boris
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