Dictionary

back story. The story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary is a very interesting and peculiar story. The Oxford English Dictionary is the reference point for the entire English language so its impact on society is overwhelming. The impact of this dictionary can not be measured in any way as it is that important to the English speaking society. Sometimes it is easy for people to underestimate the truly immense portion this dictionary played in defining the English language. In The…

surprising definition of balloon is fool. In Irish English, balloon is “a boast idiot.” Without doubt, language is ambiguous. Balloon is an object that produces happiness and which you can play with; even though, in Ireland, it is an insult. Words have power, their history shows the great changes that a word can have over time. One of the richest words that I found is flow, which later became flower. Flowers are important components in all events; I have used and received flowers innumerable…

Homemade Education by Malcolm X, we surely see the outcome of when you aren’t knowledgeable in the English language and the great affects of when you are. Malcolm X expresses how he built himself up from inside a prison cell, by just the use of a dictionary. Similarly, we turn to Jimmy Santiago Baca, who hated to read and write as a child, but when he ends up in the county jail, he realizes just how much reading and writing would save…

from meaning “to turn or roll” too meaning “ to run or bend in a certain direction”. This time, “Trend” was used more as a more geological or environmental term, describing things like rivers,coasts, mountain ranges etc etc, ( Online Etymology Dictionary) This use of the word “Trend” continued on for upwards of two hundred years or so. It wasn’t until 1863 that the meaning of “Trend” that we know today was first recorded. In this record, they used the word “Trend” to mean, “Sense of having a…

Oxford English dictionary as “Belief… which is typically manifested in obedience, reverence, and worship; such a belief as part of a system defining a code of living, esp. as a means of achieving spiritual or material improvement.” (2014). Culture on the other hand is defined as “The distinctive ideas, customs, social behaviour, products, or way of life of a particular nation, society, people, or period. Hence: a society or group characterized by such customs, etc.” (Oxford English Dictionary,…

Compare & Contrast Essay (Rough Draft) To many people, the word “other” means not this one, but that one; or the alternative one not the same one. It also has a much larger definition that can be more relevant to a person or a place. Different or distinct from the one or ones already mentioned or implied, and a group or a member of a group that is perceived as different, foreign, strange, etc. These last two definitions are more accurate definitions of this study. A compare and a contrast essay…

“Belief” is the trust that believers place in God. It is the idea of putting faith on the existence of God. According, to the Oxford English Dictionary this definition derived from the Christian virtue of faith. To be more accurate this is definition is more commonly used in the 21st century. Another prominent definition for belief is, the mental action, condition, or habit of trusting in a person…

William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night alludes to a variety of themes that commonly include false identity, role-playing, and love. The general plot of the play could be described as a cross-dressing comedy about a woman, Viola, who tries to gain the attention and love of a Duke, Orsino, with obstacles along the way, including Olivia, the Duke’s love interest. The themes mentioned are developed and sometimes scrutinized by the play’s characters, such as Orsino, Olivia, and Feste the clown. In…

As the decades pass by, words are being added into the English dictionary. Many may not realize the effects of such terms that have been introduced to the English language. George Orwell, an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic, predicts his vision of what the future would become in his novel 1984. The novel tells a powerful vision that the future would be controlled by the government from what we wear to how we speak and think. Orwell also introduces the idea of Newspeak. It’s…

Social Media and Its New Vocabulary Thanks to social media the English language has radically changed from what it was 50 years ago. It has changed so much that new words keep being added to the dictionary, words that if we are being completely honest are usually only used by people no older than maybe 30. Words that have been invented in recent years are words like “fleek”, which is generally used to describe when someone is looking good. Another example to the ever growing list of…