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The '''Oxford English Dictionary''' or OED as it is commonly referred to was one of the numerous projects that [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] devoted his time to. Much of his time was spent on the words beginning with the letter "w".
[[Image:Robert Burchfield 11 September 1970.jpg|250px|right|thumb|[[Letter 316|A letter from Tolkien to the OED]], explaining the entry "Hobbit".]]
{{quote|'''Tolkienian, a.''' Of or pertaining to the philologist and author of fantasy literature John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) or his writings.|Oxford English Dictionary<ref>OED Online, "[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50254012? Tolkienian, a.]" (subscription required)</ref>}}


The '''''Oxford English Dictionary''' ('''OED''')'', or '''''New English Dictionary''''' as it was called at its initiation, is the standard English dictionary. [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] spent several years as an assistant, and several of his own words and works would be cited in it.
==Early History==
The dictionary project started in 1878. Though it was originally not a part of the [[University of Oxford]], the institute took over the project later. The sections covering A-H were published by [[1900]], but both the [[World War I|war]] and the death of Sir [[wikipedia:James Murray (lexicographer)|James Murray]], the original editor, in [[1915]] meant that the section U-Z was not complete yet.<ref name="BioOxI">[[Humphrey Carpenter]], ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography]]'', "2: Oxford Interlude"</ref> After Murray's death, three editors remained: [[Henry Bradley]], William Craigie, and C.T. Onions. Most of their assistants had gone to war and not returned (either not to the Dictionary or not at all), so new assistants were necessary.<ref name="RoWTaL">[[Peter Gilliver]], [[Jeffrey Marshall]] and [[Edmund Weiner]], ''[[The Ring of Words|The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary]], "Tolkien as Lexicographer"</ref>
==Tolkien in the OED (1928 edition)==
<div style="-moz-column-width: 400px; -webkit-column-width: 400px; column-width: 400px; -moz-column-gap: 15px; -webkit-column-gap: 15px; column-gap: 15px; -webkit-column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc; -moz-column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc; column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc;">
According to [[Peter Gilliver|Gilliver]] et al., Tolkien worked on the following words:<ref name="RoWTaL"/>
* Waggle (noun & adjective)
* Waggly
* Wain
* Waist
* Waistband
* Waist-cloth
* Waistcoat
* Waistcoated
* Waistcoateer
* Waisted
* Waister
* Waistless
* Waist-rail
* Waist-tree
* Wait-a-bit
* Waiter
* Waitership
* Waiting (noun & adjective)
* Waiting-maid
* Waiting-man
* Waiting-room
* Waiting-woman
* Waitress
* Wake (noun & verb)
* Wake-robin
* Wake-wort
* Waldend
* Wallop (noun & verb)
* Walloper
* Walloping (noun & adjective)
* Walm (noun & verb)
* Walming
* Walnut
* Walrus
* Wampum
* Wampumpeag
* Wan (noun, adjective & verb)
* Wander (noun & verb)
* Wanderable
* Wandered
* Wanderer
* Wandering (noun & adjective)
* Wanderment
* Wander-year
* Wandreth
* Wane (noun, adjective & verb)
* Want (noun & verb)
* Want-louse
* Wariangle
* Warlock (noun & verb)
* Warlockry
* Warm
* Weald
* Wealden
* Wealding
* Wield
* Wild
* Wold
[[Humphrey Carpenter|Carpenter]] also notes:<ref name="BioOxI"/><ref name="RoWTaL"/>
* Wasp
* Water
* Wick
* Winter
</div>
==The OED in Tolkien==
The OED makes two appearances in Tolkien's work. The four original editors - Murray, Bradley, Craigie and Onions - were referenced in ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham]]'':
{{quote|Some may well ask what a blunderbuss was. Indeed, this very question, it is said, was put to the Four Wise Clerks of [[Oxenford]], and after thought they replied: 'A Blunderbuss is a short gun with a large bore firing many balls or slugs, and capable of doing execution within a limited range without exact aim. (Now superseded in civilized countries by other firearms.)' |''Farmer Giles of Ham''<ref>[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Wayne G. Hammond]], [[Christina Scull]] (eds.) ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham]]'', page 15 (50th anniversary edition)</ref>}}
Later, in ''[[The Notion Club Papers]]'', the N.E.D. appears:
{{quote|'Yes, ''doink'' has come on a lot lately,' said Lowdham. 'But it's not brand-new, of course. I think it's first recorded, in the Third Supplement to the N.E.D., in the fifties, in the form ''dŏing'': seems to have started in the Air Force in the Six Year's War|[[Arundel Lowdham]]<ref>[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Christopher Tolkien]] (ed.) ''[[Sauron Defeated]]'', "[[The Notion Club Papers (Part Two)]]", page 223-224</ref>}}
==See also==
*[[Letter 316]]
*[[Letter to Robert Burchfield (6 November 1954)]]
*[[The Meaning of Everything]]


== External links==
== External links==
* [http://dictionary.oed.com/newsletters/2002-06/tolkien.html J. R. R. Tolkien and the OED]
* [http://public.oed.com/history-of-the-oed/newsletter-archive/jrr-tolkien-and-the-oed/ J.R.R. Tolkien and the OED]
* [http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/03/walrus-in-the-oed/ Whale-horses and morses: Tolkien and the walrus in the OED]
 
{{references}}
{{title|italics}}
[[Category:Books with contribution by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:Publications by title]]
[[Category:Reference books]]

Latest revision as of 22:47, 25 February 2024

A letter from Tolkien to the OED, explaining the entry "Hobbit".
"Tolkienian, a. Of or pertaining to the philologist and author of fantasy literature John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) or his writings."
― Oxford English Dictionary[1]

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), or New English Dictionary as it was called at its initiation, is the standard English dictionary. J.R.R. Tolkien spent several years as an assistant, and several of his own words and works would be cited in it.

Early History[edit | edit source]

The dictionary project started in 1878. Though it was originally not a part of the University of Oxford, the institute took over the project later. The sections covering A-H were published by 1900, but both the war and the death of Sir James Murray, the original editor, in 1915 meant that the section U-Z was not complete yet.[2] After Murray's death, three editors remained: Henry Bradley, William Craigie, and C.T. Onions. Most of their assistants had gone to war and not returned (either not to the Dictionary or not at all), so new assistants were necessary.[3]

Tolkien in the OED (1928 edition)[edit | edit source]

According to Gilliver et al., Tolkien worked on the following words:[3]

  • Waggle (noun & adjective)
  • Waggly
  • Wain
  • Waist
  • Waistband
  • Waist-cloth
  • Waistcoat
  • Waistcoated
  • Waistcoateer
  • Waisted
  • Waister
  • Waistless
  • Waist-rail
  • Waist-tree
  • Wait-a-bit
  • Waiter
  • Waitership
  • Waiting (noun & adjective)
  • Waiting-maid
  • Waiting-man
  • Waiting-room
  • Waiting-woman
  • Waitress
  • Wake (noun & verb)
  • Wake-robin
  • Wake-wort
  • Waldend
  • Wallop (noun & verb)
  • Walloper
  • Walloping (noun & adjective)
  • Walm (noun & verb)
  • Walming
  • Walnut
  • Walrus
  • Wampum
  • Wampumpeag
  • Wan (noun, adjective & verb)
  • Wander (noun & verb)
  • Wanderable
  • Wandered
  • Wanderer
  • Wandering (noun & adjective)
  • Wanderment
  • Wander-year
  • Wandreth
  • Wane (noun, adjective & verb)
  • Want (noun & verb)
  • Want-louse
  • Wariangle
  • Warlock (noun & verb)
  • Warlockry
  • Warm
  • Weald
  • Wealden
  • Wealding
  • Wield
  • Wild
  • Wold

Carpenter also notes:[2][3]

  • Wasp
  • Water
  • Wick
  • Winter

The OED in Tolkien[edit | edit source]

The OED makes two appearances in Tolkien's work. The four original editors - Murray, Bradley, Craigie and Onions - were referenced in Farmer Giles of Ham:

"Some may well ask what a blunderbuss was. Indeed, this very question, it is said, was put to the Four Wise Clerks of Oxenford, and after thought they replied: 'A Blunderbuss is a short gun with a large bore firing many balls or slugs, and capable of doing execution within a limited range without exact aim. (Now superseded in civilized countries by other firearms.)' "
― Farmer Giles of Ham[4]

Later, in The Notion Club Papers, the N.E.D. appears:

"'Yes, doink has come on a lot lately,' said Lowdham. 'But it's not brand-new, of course. I think it's first recorded, in the Third Supplement to the N.E.D., in the fifties, in the form dŏing: seems to have started in the Air Force in the Six Year's War"
― Arundel Lowdham[5]

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

References

  1. ↑ OED Online, "Tolkienian, a." (subscription required)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, "2: Oxford Interlude"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Peter Gilliver, Jeffrey Marshall and Edmund Weiner, The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary, "Tolkien as Lexicographer"
  4. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull (eds.) Farmer Giles of Ham, page 15 (50th anniversary edition)
  5. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.) Sauron Defeated, "The Notion Club Papers (Part Two)", page 223-224
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