home, n.1 and adj. 2.
a. A dwelling place; a person's house or abode; the fixed residence of a family or household; the seat of domestic life and interests
a. A dwelling place; a person's house or abode; the fixed residence of a family or household; the seat of domestic life and interests
4. a. A time-table. Originally U.S. (but cf. schedule v.). Also transferred and in extended sense, a programme or plan of events, operations, etc. Frequently in phrases according to, before, behind, on, etc., schedule (time).
In the sense ‘a printed time-table of arrivals and departures of trains, buses, aeroplanes, etc.’, the use remains chiefly North America
I expect most sessions to have about an hour of presentation and questions, and then time for exploration of words that interest you—preferably nominated the week before.
April 12
Words for today and their histories, what entries look like, and a very brief history of our dictionary.
April 19
The word "word"; what a word is, and what happens to words (Words on the Move)
April 26 (1 hour)
Johnson's Dictionary, what dictionaries should be
May 3
The OED 1857 to 1915: Furnivall, Murray (Lost in the Web of Words), Minor (The Professor and the Madman);
May 10 (I'll be remote)
1915-1933: The OED completed and the Supplement; What's in, out, or doubtful (The Dictionary of Lost Words and Lost for Words)
may 17
1933-1988 The second Suppllement, the second edition,
May 24
OED 3; online at last.
May 31
Who knows? What we've decided to explore.
2. A means of supplying a deficiency or need; something that is a source of help, information, strength, etc.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Of course the dictionaries are our best resources.
The OED is available through your library subscriptions, or individual subscriptions at <https://oed.com> ($29.95/month, $100/year).
Johnson's Dictionary is available online at <https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/> (free).
Gilliver, Peter. The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2016. A detailed history that includes business details as well as accounts of the lexicographical issues.
McWhorter, John. Words on the Move: Why English Won't—and Can't Sit Still (Like, Literally). New York: Macmillan, 2017. An account of what happens when people use words, particularly in the cases he presents in parentheses.
Mugglestone, Linda. Lost for Words: The Hidden History of the Oxford English Dictionary. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 2005. A study of commentary on page proofs that reveals the preferences and sometimes biases of the editors and assistants.
Murray, K. M. Elizabeth. Caught in the Web of Words: James Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1995. The biography of the central figure in the construction (and survival) of the huge scholarly project, by his great-granddaughter.
Williams, Pip. The Dictionary of Lost Words: A Novel. New York: Ballantine, 2022. A girl grows up in the midst of the OED family, interacting with imagined versions of the dictionary workers. She learns about and resists the gender and class distinctions that affect the dictionary, even as she commits herself to its completion. There are interesting imagined portraits of the people and the work behind the vast enterprise.
Winchester, Simon. The Meaning of Everything: the Story of the Oxford English Dictionary. new ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2018. A very readable history that covers the essential elements of the history of the project.
-------------. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford Engliah Dictionary. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. The entertaining account of James Murray's association with the murderer, incarcerated in a mental institution, who contributed many resources to the dictionary—made into an over-dramatized movie (and also, probably the reason Oxford chose him to write the popular history).
We will also use resources from the Great Courses series, which will be acknowledged as we go along.