Probably not, but now this forgotten terminology has been
revived in a limited edition facsimile of the 1911 Concise Oxford Dictionary
(COD), published to mark the centenary of the linguistic treasure trove.
The reprint appears alongside a new 12th edition of the
Concise Oxford English Dictionary (COED), which contains more than 240,000
words, phrases and definitions, including 400 completely new entries.
Clad in an art deco cover, the 1911 limited-edition
dictionary offers a glimpse into a world where a “jet” was a stream of water,
and the words “cockyolly bird,” “growlery,” and “brabble” referred to a nursery
phrase for a bird, a private room or den, and a noisy quarrel.
“The 1911 dictionary is a lot smaller than the latest
version and is phrased more quaintly in some places, but my overriding
impression of it is how good it was,” Angus Stevenson, an editor of the 12th
edition of the COED, told Reuters.
Unlike the vast, high-tech database of texts and articles
used today to analyze language, the editors of the first dictionary used rather
more laborious methods.
The first editors, brothers Henry and George Fowler, wrote
letters to friends and experts and drew on the work done for the Oxford English
Dictionary to compile the first concise version of the book from their cottage
on the Channel Island of Guernsey.
“They tried hard to be as up to date as possible,” Stevenson
said. “They included the entry ‘aeroplane,’ even though the first flight had
been made in 1903, and ‘Duma’, even though the Russian Parliament had only been
created in 1906 — it was a very good dictionary.”
Some of the slang in the 1911 edition, including “shirty”
for annoyed and “parky” for cold, is still in use today.
“Although these terms might be considered a little old
fashioned, they were cutting-edge Edwardian slang, and their inclusion shows
how progressive the Fowlers were in their editing,” Stevenson said.
Together, the 12 editions provide a fascinating record of
the influx of new words into the English language over the past century.
“Computer” was not recognized in 1911 - in contrast to the
entries found in the 2011 version, such as “cyberbullying” and “retweet,” which
reflect the growing influence of the Internet on the use of language.
“Social networking sites have created a real language of the
net. We’ve noticed that new words come into currency much more quickly as a
result of the internet, as people see friends, or friends of friends, using new
words and copy them,” Stevenson said.
Varieties of English spoken around the world are also
becoming less distinct as a consequence of increased global connectivity
through the World Wide Web, he added.
The latest edition of the COED covers English spoken in
India, as well as Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies and America.
“There used to be very little American in the dictionaries.
It was a variety of English distinct from that spoken in Britain, but now the
versions are merging together.” Stevenson said.
A prime example of this is “woot” — an exclamation used
predominantly online to express elation, enthusiasm or triumph.
“The expression ‘woot’ began in America but was picked up
very quickly by people in Britain, as a result of the Internet breaking down
international boundaries,” Stevenson said.
“I don’t know why people can’t just say ‘hurrah’ but maybe I’m
being old fashioned.”
