Dictionary

What is a Muckraker? The dictionary defines it as, “one who inquires into and publishes scandal and allegations of corruption among political and business leaders.” The term Muckraker has been surrounded with a negative connotation since the term came about in 1902 under the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Some synonyms of the term Muckraker include Mudslinger, nitpicker and even hellion. But what most do not understand, is without the work of a Muckraker, those in which I prefer to recognize…

In the first place, dictionaries with standardized and regulated words will help us maintain “conventions of usage” (Bryson, 1990, p.151). “We must agree to spell cat c-a-t and not e-l-e-p-h-a-n-t, and we must agree that by that word we mean a small furry quadruped that goes meow and sits comfortably on one’s lap and not a large lumbering beast that grows tusks and is exceeding difficult to housebreak” (Bryson, 1990, p.150). We seem to have so many names for the same items. Sub sandwich’s can…

language and cross-cultural difference and publish dictionaries. If your children can read a bit, it is very useful for your them to carry a bilingual dictionary (English/native language) with them (August, Carlo, Dressler, & Snow, 2005). Whenever they feel overwhelmed trying to communicate, they can refer to the dictionary. It will also help me to use the dictionary if I am not able to communicate with your child. Please, make sure they bring the dictionary with herself/himself to school every…

Unstained by the cruelties of reality, Adam and Eve had a wonderful life. They had animals, gardens, each other, Alpacas, a tent, the sun and moon, the Oxford English Dictionary, and a newfound attachment to the word incandescent. Reading from the Oxford English Dictionary, they learned the Latin origin of their new favorite word, which was derived from incandēscĕre, which means to inflame, warm, and glow, and Candēscĕre, which means to become white. After learning the…

associations of the word “depressed” was filled out by twenty individuals. These results were analyzed and compared to dictionary definitions. The objective of this was to analyze the way a word is understood by individuals and what they associate with it. This shows us generalizations made based on the word and why some of those generalizations were made. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary had various…

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a favela as a settlement of jerry-built shacks on the outskirts of a Brazilian city. Oxford Dictionary refers to a favela as a Brazilian shack or shantytown; a slum. There are many problems with these definitions of a favela. Most of the problems with these definitions is that they have not evolved with favelas and give a negative connotation to word favela. The definition of a favela may have been appropriate for the favelas of Rio in 1960, but modern day…

creation history of the most known Oxford English Dictionary (OED), and the life story of one of the contributors — Dr. William Chester Minor. For almost twenty years, Dr. Minor worked hard to supply the OED editorial team with words, including quotations and definitions collected and arranged in a unique way. According to James Murray, the primary editor of OED, Dr. Minor was the most prolific contributor, and his work was a stepping stone toward dictionary creation. Minor’s conflicted…

as well as the characters she wrote. In my research. I also found out that Mildred was the one that gave Nancy Drew her personality that she has in the books. I knew I wanted to use the word spunky in my poem. When looking in the Oxford English Dictionary I learned that around the time of 1805-1875 spunky meant mean, irritable, and irascible. This is not what I want readers to think about Mildred but it could be seen potentially this way. “I may be older and not so much of a spunky and…

What is organized crime? Oxford Dictionaries says Organized crime is criminal activities that are planned and controlled by powerful groups and carried out on a large scale. The FBI say when you think of organized crime, you probably picture the Italian and Sicilian Mafioso of television and the silver screen. But in recent years, the face of organized crime has changed, and the threat is broader and more complex than ever. They tell us more bout this change and who they are. Like Russian…

In Lydia Davis’s short story, “The Old Dictionary” a person reflects on how they treats things. It is pointed out that he or she worries more about a book and not his or her own son. This dictionary means more to that person than their own son. A child needs looking after as well as plants and pets. A book is something to sit on a shelf, not something to focus a life around. Maybe somethings are looked after more because they require less demands than other things, but does that mean to not give…