June 2001 newsletter

14 June was a red-letter day in the quarterly publication of OED Online. For the first time, the range of text published included the addition of some 250 new words and senses across the alphabet, a proportion that will increase with future ranges. The preparation of entries for new items has always been at the forefront of the OED revision programme, and since the publication of the Additions volumes in the 1990s the new-words team has continued to research and define both older established lexical items which had not been included in the First Edition and Supplements, and English as it has evolved in the late 20^th century throughout the various English-speaking regions of the world.

In this issue of OED News are some 'taster' entries for two new items published this quarter - doh! and cyberphobia. The first is an expression popularized by Homer Simpson, although he was by no means the first to use it; the second is just one of the many cyber- compounds which emerged in the 1990s.

Jennie Price also looks at the process of tracking and capturing the English language around the world, while some of the compilers of the new AskOxford language information web site allow us to sample its helpful wares.

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