About the OED
Posted by R. Berg on April 02, 2002 In Reply to: Re: Me, and methodology posted
by R. Berg on April 02, 2002
: : What's wrong, does my explanation make more sense then your
Oxford English Dictionary? You know as well as I do the 2002 edition
doesn't look anything like the 1669 edition. I'm sorry that your
ego is so fragile that it can't take questioning.
: Insults don't help--and then there's always "Don't trash the
volunteers who provide a service." I'll try to make my point another
way. This will be the same explanation as before, but in different
words.
: You (that is, anyone) are free to pick your clothes, your friends,
and the decor for your home by "what feels right." When it comes
to deciding the origin of a word, however, a more scientific mode
of thought is called for, because we're talking about things that
happened. A series of past events. External reality. Once in a while
the OED does get something wrong, but I won't apologize for accepting
their theory of "redskin" over yours. They arrive at their explanations
with the help of old documents that most of us haven't seen.
: You're welcome to make a case for the bloody-hands theory of
"redskin," but imagination--"Well, it could have gone like this"--isn't
enough. You'd have to show some evidence. I didn't make up that
requirement; that's just the way it is when we're talking about
the real world.
By the way, there is no 1669 edition of the OED. There is no 2002
edition. Right now they're working on the 2009 (they hope) edition.
The OED's entry for a word or phrase includes quotations showing
how it was used, in context, at different times throughout its history.
Some quotations go back to the year 725 (Beowulf). The history of
"redskin" as documented by the OED editors goes back only to 1669.
- Fact vs Fancy Word Camel 04/03/02
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- Re: About the OED Jen 04/02/02
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