Prima to proteose and a small collection of other related matters

Words of the Day

Eagle-eyed users may have noticed a couple of changes to the OED Online site recently. The Word of the Day service was established to make sample OED entries generally available, as a means of demonstrating the depth of information that such entries contain. The selection of entries included a proportion of revised, unrevised, and new entries. Recently the Word of the Day service quietly introduced a scattering of topical terms on particular days. Of course, those with an astrological bent may previously have identified some Words of the Day as being particularly relevant, but this was not intended!

Restructuring of compounds and phrases on OED Online

Secondly, a more significant innovation was introduced as a result of the change in 2005 to a new computer system for the use of the OED editors. The data with which the editors work is now held in XML (rather than SGML), and the change allowed us to review the tagging structure of the data. The principal effect of this to date, as far as the online user is concerned, is that compounds are now published alongside their accompanying quotations. Previously the structure placed all compounds and their definitions in one sequence, and all accompanying quotations for these in another sequence lower down the entry. This innovation was introduced at perfect, and continues today through to the end of the newly revised range at proteose. (For examples of the old and the new structures, search, for example, for production engineering and compare the unrevised version by pressing the 'earlier' button at the top of the screen.) Related tagging changes have also been applied to many phrase and phrasal verb subsections.

At present we are extending this new structure backwards through the ranges published since the OED went online (i.e. back to M). The present update takes the restructuring back from perfect to orb, and this process will be continued in subsequent releases.

At the same time, we have been able to incorporate a number of changes suggested by users over the restructured range. These are indicated by a new publication date at the top right-hand corner of the entry screen. Examples include antedatings for peccant adjective (sense 1a, to 1595), pedicure (sense 1, to 1784), and pep rally (to 1915).

More results from ‘Balderdash & Piffle’

Further changes to entries can be expected as a result of the current BBC2 series ‘Balderdash & Piffle’. Results of the OED’s Wordhunt broadcast in the first two programmes of the series include a significant antedating of shaggy dog story back to 1937, and the informal expression mucky pup from 1984 back to 1934. Further important discoveries are expected in subsequent episodes of the eight-part series.

This quarter's revised range

The revised range of the OED published on 14 June 2007 runs from prima to proteose. It contains 2,693 entries, bringing the total number of main entries in the OED to 260,154. The dictionary's 590,077 lemmas (roughly, words and expressions which are included in the dictionary) are illustrated by 2,827,811 quotations and represent 697,324 different meanings.

Entries starting with the letters pro (1891 entries) dominate the newly published section of the dictionary. Many of the entries involve one of two prefixes: the first representing Latin pro (mainly manifesting in English as 'favouring; acting as a substitute for; forwards; onwards; and in front of'), and the second representing Greek pro ('before in time, place,order, etc.'). In many cases these prefixes had already been assimilated into Latin or French words before they were borrowed into English (profusion, prolapse, promenade, propaganda); in others, the introduction of the prefix is an innovation in English (pro-cathedral, prolactin, pro-life, pro-oestrus).

The newly revised range includes a large number of important words: primary prime primitive prince principal principle print private prize pro- probable problem proceed process produce production profession professional profile profit profound programme progress progressive prohibit project projection prominent promiscuous promise promote prompt prone proof prop propel proper property prophet proportion propose prose prospect prostitute protect protection protein

The prevalence of words based on Latin pro (with its forward-looking and positive connotations) gives many words in the range a hopeful or optimistic air: proceed, procession, proficient, profit, progress, project, prolific, prominent, promise, promote, propose, and prospect. This happy optimism is countered, however, by other words, such as problem and prohibition. This is quite a change for the editors, after several months of looking backwards in time in pre-, a sensation which will return temporarily as we enter proto-.

For a good example of the effects of revising the dictionary, see probation noun or promenade noun (new and old versions). Examples of some of the many interesting shorter entries outside the pro- sequence include: prima ballerina, prison bar, and prizefighter.