Writing the OED

The OED is undergoing a major £34 million revision programme. Every definition and etymology is being painstakingly revised, and hundreds of new entries are written each year. Batches of new and revised entries are published online every three months.

But how is an entry written?

Collecting evidence

The aim of the OED is to provide a record of how the English language is and has been used in writing and in speech. Whether a word is new or long obsolete, its meaning can only be determined by looking at examples of it in use.

The first step in creating or revising an entry is therefore to collect evidence of words and phrases in use from all over the English-speaking world.

Examples of many thousands of new words are collected each year, and we have to choose which of them to include in the OED.

As well as looking out for new words, we also monitor the changing usage of existing words so that their entries can be accurately revised.

Writing the definition

From the evidence of how a word is used, we can determine its meaning and write the definition. Extra research, using electronic resources and libraries, ensures the definition is complete and accurate.

Etymology

Specialist research is undertaken to trace the origin of every word in the Dictionary.

Spellings

The evidence for each word is summarized in a list of the different forms in which a word has occurred. Words that have existed in English for many centuries may have dozens of different spellings.

Pronunciation

Standard British and U.S. pronunciations are given for each word currently in use.

Bibliographic standardization

A specialist group of bibliographers are reviewing the accuracy of the source quotations on which the definitions are built. Their research ensures that the most appropriate editions of works are cited, and that the evidence is dated accurately.

How long does it all take?

The amount of time it takes to write a complete Dictionary entry can vary widely, depending on how complex the entry is. For a typical word, with a single meaning, a complete OED entry might take a few hours to prepare.

This time consists of the contributions of several different people, and the work may in fact be spread out over a period of months, during which the entry is drafted, sent out for specialist consultation, and then returned for final editing.