The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-08
NEW WORKS..
How They Find Their Way Into the Die
tionary.

ElO" lucy THp iHelf way lHtO INC III
tionary.
(From the New York Tribune)
The scientific publications furnish
much of the material for the word cab
inets. but there are other and peculiar
sources. The man who delivers a lee
ture before a backwoods debating So
ciety, and who earns from his fellow
members the distinction of having
coined" word, usually sends the word
with the laudatory remark of his
townspeople to the dictionary maker;
the man who makes a new shoe polish,
tooth wash, skirt binding or machine
and invents name to describe the
novelty, makes efforts to advertise his
invention by having the name become
a part of the dictionary, and the conse-
quence is that the stock of that class
of words is usually great Some of these
| trade words have become so popular
that they have been taken into the
fold, but the makers of dictionaries are
skeptics and must be fully convinced
of the lasting qualities of the word be-
fore it is accepted.
"A SlIlhllS tAdulHlG VI lnlS CLASS Is
the name used for a popular pyroxyline
material The word was copyrighted,
but was so well known in business that
| the dictionary people felt justified in
giving it place in their book But
while some inventors would have been
pleased with this action, the pyroxyline
material patentees objected. on the
ground that their compound was pat
ented. and should be fully described and
not cut off with a simple description of
common noun"
If we give the word and it's deriva-
ttons and definitions just as those who
own the copyrights wish us to give
them" said a dictionary maker. there
would be no objection on their part but
our book would become an encyclo-
Dedia."
THE word is not in any of the recog-
nized dictionaries, and is consequently
not looked upon as good English"
That verdict would be looked upon as
final by the average man in case
where the question had arisen as to the
propriety of using a word. But to those
people who know how dictionaries are
| compiled, the fact that the word did
not appear in the latest edition would
not be conclusive.
The English language is growing con-
unually, and words and phrases are
being grated into the old stock which
would be meaningless to the people
whose use of the language or contact
with the people who speak it had
ceased several years ago. The concert
hall and the laboratory, the work shop
and the bar room, all contribute toward
the stock of new words, and science as
we'll as commerce gives rise to words
which in many instances reach the die
tlonarles. But while this may be true of
| many words, more live a season and
then die. In order to determine what
shall be done with the new words. the
dictionary makers allow them to grow
and ripen' in cabinets made for that
purpose. These cabinets consist of a
series of boxes, one for each letter in
the alphabet, and into these boxes the
new words are placed, together with all
matter pertaining to them. until such
4 Time as new or revised edition of the
! dictionary is to be issued, and then the
| accumulated novelties in the way of
/ words are carefully examined. and
| those that are found worthy are given
a place in the new edition and become
a part of the language
Ihen there are the people who invent
/ dishes and wish to be immortalized in
/ che gastronomic world. san Juan
/ steak. Manila stew and Maine
| shortcake' are among the "dishes"
which the inventors wish to see incor-
porated in the next edition of the die
! tlonary; ana as to drinks there is
hardly Well-known naval officer in
! the service after whom a cocktail, a
/ Smash or julep has not been named
/ ana IN describing it the writer usuallv
4 requests that mention should be made
OF the TACT that it was first brewed
concocted or mixed by So-and-So."
me Inc words which come from the
scientific world receive the most seri
Gus consideration. and the number in
vented or formed last wear is larger
/ IMAM II has ever been before in one
year. Surgery, pharmacy and chemis-
/ Try, electricity and photography. have
an furnished new words. and while
I these are being pondered over by the
grave and serious student other words
OF less serious import, which crept into
the language during the last twelve
I months mon IN spirit of humor, slang or
/ criticism. are also being seriously con-
sidered.
] The war gave rise to a number of
/ words which viii undoubtedly find their
/ way INTO the dictionary. The reconcan-
7 trado has become an American colonist
and the trocha figures in the official
| reports of the operations in Cuba. The
uniforms of an important part of the
~ lted states army will be made of
@ Ii1Ih IRON now on, and the
Wofd VIII undoubtedly become a part
of the language. pa
one of the many slang words of the
| year which seem destined to remain
IN the American English" said a vord
expert. lis rubber Rubber as nom
Is nothing new, but the word rubber
neck as applied to an inquisitive ner-
son has become popular in the slang
world and has given rise to the verb
| rubber