When the thing being defined is obsolete (as with, say, catapult, this will be indicated in the definition itself (“an ancient military device for hurling missiles”). Please note that this label applies to the word itself, and not to any thing in the definition. Obsolete: this means that there no evidence of a word’s use since 1755. Here is a list of our usage labels, and what each one means. These labels are designed to give the user of the dictionary some additional information about the word. Often a word, or sense of a word, will be followed by a usage label (written in italics). Although the earliest meaning of this word is “a tumultuous breakup of ice in a river,” this sense is preceded by the more common one of “a great disaster.” At one point we arranged all our entries in chronological fashion we now are in the process of shifting from this style to arranging them beginning with the most common sense. An example of a word which begins with the most common sense is the previously mentioned debacle. An example of a word which begins with the oldest known sense is dishabille the common use of this word today is “the state of being dressed in a casual or careless style,” but it is preceded in the entry by the definition “ negligee,” which was the word’s original meaning. The senses of each word are organized in one of two possible ways: beginning with the oldest known sense or the most common one. If a word has multiple senses the first one is not the most important one.Just as inclusion in a dictionary does not confer status upon a word, exclusion from this book does not remove it. Some words are omitted because they are too obscure or specialized, or too new (and do not yet have a solidified meaning), or simply are as yet unknown to us. If we do not offer a definition for a word, or a sense, this does not necessarily mean that the word is not real.The role of the dictionary is to record use of a language, not to regulate it. If we define a word it does not mean that we have approved or sanctioned it. Here are some points for your edification: It may seem a bit silly that we need to have an entire section defining what the definitions are, but many people appear to have some awkward ideas about how words are defined (both in terms of what this means and what it doesn’t mean).
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