iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Life as a historical lexicographer: when you have the #ComeFromAway soundtrack on loop in your headphones because it's the perfect backdrop for the day's research. #CanadianEnglish #AtlanticCanada #lexicography

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Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

The first use we can find of "four-legged friend" refers to, wait, a donkey? (That's Greek literature for you. Need to scare away a horde of attacking giants? Donkeys to the rescue!) All this & more in the latest New Words release notes from the Oxford English Dictionary: www.oed.com/discover/new...

oed.com

New Words in the OED June 2026 update

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Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Elbows up, cashspiel, point form, and grunt (the dessert): just some of the words and phrases from Canadian English that have been added to the OED this quarter! www.oed.com/discover/new...

oed.com

Oxford English Dictionary

The OED is the definitive record of the English language, featuring 600,000 words, 3 million quotations, and over 1,000 years of English.

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Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Need to swing by the dep to pick up some milk? Have memories of acquiring many, many duotangs for the start of school? Duotang, pharmacare, Chiac, dep, and advance poll are among this quarter's additions to the OED - among others: www.oed.com/discover/new... #canada #canadianenglish #lexicography

oed.com

New words from around the world in the OED June 2025 update

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Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

If you are anywhere near London and would like to be distracted from the state of the world for a few blissful hours, may I thoroughly recommend the current production of Much Ado about Nothing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane? Shakespearean comedy at its finest: I have not laughed so hard in months.

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Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Problems in historical lexicography: how many recipe clippings is too many when you are working on a word related to French patisserie?

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Reposted by Dr. Jennifer Hurd

Jesse Sheidlower @jessesword.com · 01/02/2025

Happy 141st anniversary of the publication of the first fascicle (A–ANT) of _A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles_, later to be known at the Oxford English #Dictionary (OED).

Title page of _A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles_, a.k.a. the Oxford English Dictionary, published on 1 February 1884.

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Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

This is a bit belated, but the good folks at the OED asked me to write about some of the new words we added this past quarter (so of course I had to write about TTRPG terms, baking, mystery novels, and systems for organizing books): www.oed.com/discover/the...

oed.com

Oxford English Dictionary

The OED is the definitive record of the English language, featuring 600,000 words, 3 million quotations, and over 1,000 years of English.

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Reposted by Dr. Jennifer Hurd

David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

"Like all empires, this one rested on a foundation of lies." #Oathbreakers, out from @harpercollins.bsky.social on 12/10. The story of how Charlemagne's grandsons fought a brutal civil war and shattered the Frankish Empire. SIGNED COPY GIVEAWAY. Repost to enter. First drawing 7 pm CST USA. /1

harpercollins.com

Oathbreakers

The authors of The Bright Ages return with a real-life Game of Thrones—the story of the Carolingian Civil War, a bloody, protracted battle pitting brother against brother, father against son, that wou...

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Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

I feel like I know some people who might have strong opinions on this one: Oxford University Press is once again asking for public input to help choose the Oxford 2024 Word of the Year. Romantasy? Demure? Dynamic pricing? Brain rot? Slop? Or lore? You can vote here: corp.oup.com/word-of-the-...

corp.oup.com

Oxford Word of the Year 2024 - Oxford University Press

Voting is now open for Oxford Word of the Year 2024! Have your say and vote for your favourite word before voting closes on Thursday 28 November.

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Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 15/04/2024

Day in the life of a #lexicographer: let's investigate a new sense that's been suggested. (Some research later.) Oh, wait, turns out there are three other senses of this word - all of which are earlier than the sense I was meant to be working on, and none of which we have yet. Right, best get to it!

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Dr. Jennifer Hurd @jenniferhurd.bsky.social · 20/12/2023

One of the best things about my job is routinely uncovering old words that are new to me. And even on holiday, I will read something and go, 'Ooo, that's fun, I wonder if we have an entry for that?' This week's latest: zawn, which is used in Cornwall for a fissure or cave in a coastal cliff.

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