The stories behind the Oxford English Dictionary
Anyone who finds dictionaries boring has not read Sarah Ogilvie’s new book
In July 1915 an ailing James Murray (pictured), one of the early editors of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), defined one final word. He had dedicated 36 years to the dictionary; his toil had taken a toll. Knowing he would not see the project complete, he wrote his last entry: for “twilight”.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Spelling glee”
Culture October 7th 2023
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