How does a word come into the dictionary

We bet you would have thought about it!

I just created the word “Hungerlicious”; it is the state when you are so hungry that even a simple dish feels delicious. So, the next step of legitimation would be to get it into a dictionary. So, how do I do that? What is the process? How does a word come into the dictionary? Is it a person who decides it or a jury of people whose approval makes a word legitimate enough to find its way to the dictionary? So, let’s find out the answer to this burning question.

How can “Hungerlicious” get into the dictionary?

The answer to this complex question is actually very simple. If “Hungerlicious” becomes popular enough to be used frequently, it will make its way into the dictionary. Many abbreviations and such slangs get added to the dictionary when they are regularly spoken and frequently used.

Who writes all these words in the dictionary?

Well, there is such a person who is authorized to put together these words in the dictionary. They are known as a lexicographer. Their job is to collect all the relevant information about the word, new or old. They would see their usage in all written, spoken and even online space. Then they create a database of research of the particular word. Researchers then actively try to seek the usage of the word across different backgrounds. Once they establish a universal or solid meaning to a word, that word makes its way to the latest edition of the dictionary.

How many English dictionaries are out there?

Well, there are many English dictionaries in the world, but the Oxford dictionary is the most trusted and the oldest English dictionary in the world. Do you know that they started compiling in August 1879, and the final volume was published in the year 1928? That is almost 50 years of compilation. Phew!

Can a word be thrown out of the dictionary?

Another very genuine and baffling question that frequently arises that can any word be taken out of the dictionary? The answer is no. Oxford dictionary maintains that words can be thrown out; they can only be outdated. So, if tomorrow we want to know that outdated word for dating, the dictionary is the first place we will look into.

Whether my coined word makes it to the dictionary or not, you are wiser about how dictionaries work. Now, share this newfound knowledge with a friend and became a “knower”, Another word I want in a dictionary.