Finding The Forgotten Creators Of The Oxford English Dictionary

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4.4 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2024

⏱️ 35 minutes

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Summary

There are few books in the world that most people have heard of. There are even fewer so recognizable that are 500,000 words long.

That's right, we're talking about the dictionary.

The Oxford English Dictionary is the longest English variant of its kind in the world. But many of those who made significant contributions to its creation went unknown for years — until now. These included hundreds of women, people without formal educations, and patients in mental institutions.

In other words, the people who helped make the OED were as diverse as the words in it. We discuss how the Oxford English Dictionary came to be and how our relationship to the dictionary has changed.

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0:00.0	Support for this podcast and the following message come from the NPR Wine Club,
0:04.5	which has generated over $1.75 million to support NPR programming,
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0:12.3	you can learn more at NPRwineclub.org slash podcast.
0:16.0	Must be 21 or older to purchase.
0:25.6	Music or older to purchase. There are few books in the world that most people have heard of.
0:29.2	There are even fewer that are over 500,000 words long.
0:33.9	No, we're not talking about the Bible.
0:35.5	We're talking about the dictionary.
0:37.5	One of my most prized possessions is my Oxford English Dictionary, which I received as a trophy.
0:45.3	When I won my elementary school spelling bee, I had all of my teachers and classmates sign it, and it was such a cherished award. I used it constantly,
0:58.7	even throughout college. I was an academic librarian. I used the Oxford English Dictionary
1:05.0	regularly and still do in my retirement. The vast variety of words and depth of research into each word can't be found
1:13.4	anyplace else. I grew up before the Internet, and we had a double volume copy of the Oxford
1:20.9	English Dictionary in our house. It was front and center on the secretary at the top of our stairs
1:26.4	when you walked in the door.
1:33.4	And any time we had a question, it was so frustrating because my dad would say, go look it up in the OED.
1:34.4	And so my sisters and I would have to grab the magnifying glass, and we'd have to dig through
1:38.8	and find the word and then usually wind up discussing it.
1:43.0	It was a great lesson.
1:47.0	And now the OED sits in my house,
1:52.7	and I love it much. Thanks for those messages. The Oxford English Dictionary is the longest dictionary of English in the world, but many of its creators went unknown for years, until now.
	...

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