March 2010 update

On 11 March 2010 the New Edition was updated with new materials which fall into three maincategories: (a) alphabetical series of revised entries based around significant words from across the alphabet; (b)the sequence of revised entries from requalify to Rg; (c) a series of new entries and senses from across the alphabet. The OED’s chief editor, John Simpson, provides some observations on the revision of this section of the alphabet, while Michael Proffitt and Graeme Diamond comment on some of the most interesting new words in the batch. Below this are listed all the new words in the ranges, and a list of new entries from across the alphabet.

Revisions

Words and numbers

H. G. Wells allowed himself to speculate, in his futuristic novel The world set free (1914), on how much the OED would grow as the twentieth century progressed:

Within ten years from the establishment of the World Republic the New English Dictionary [the name under which the Oxford English Dictionary was originally published] had swelled to include a vocabulary of 250,000 words, and a man of 1900 would have found considerable difficulty in reading an ordinary newspaper. On the other hand, the men of the new time could still appreciate the older English literature.

In addition, he highlighted some areas where he thought the language would change:

It was not without some sacrifices that the English-speaking peoples were permitted the satisfaction of hearing their speech used universally. The language was shorn of a number of grammatical peculiarities, the distinctive forms for the subjunctive mood for example, and most of its irregular plurals were abolished; its spelling was systematised and adapted to the vowel sounds in use upon the Continent of Europe, and a process of incorporating foreign nouns and verbs commenced that speedily reached enormous proportions (p. 237).

English may not have gone so far along the road of global simplification and standardization as Wells predicted, but he was too cautious in his estimate of the size of the language. There are many ways of counting the number of entries in a dictionary. According to one count (headwords and defined terms within entries) the First Edition of the OED contained (when it was completed in 1928) 484,041 ‘words’. The same count shows that the Second Edition (incorporating the 1972–86 Supplement) saw this figure rise to 562,550. The current revision has, since 2000, brought the sum total up to 597,291 as of December 2009.

Other counts are rising too. The number of illustrative quotations in the First Edition of the OED was 1,829,078; in the Second Edition 2,517,124; and currently in the Third Edition 3,003,715 – just over the three million mark.

A search through the entries revised over the past ten years shows that some 177,000 subsenses are new or have now been provided with earlier examples (that represents about 80 every working day over the period), and a larger number of 244,750 subsenses have received more up-to-date evidence (over 110 per working day).

Words

The current update to the OED centres round four main words: French, general, information, and technology. French continues the theme of major nouns and adjectives relating to countries (American, English, and Indian are examples of words from this set that have already been revised). General and the words surrounding this in the alphabet allow us to complete the sequence started several releases ago when we published the gene and genetic words. Information and technology, and all of the words in their alphabetical ranges, highlight significant areas of lexical (and cultural) development over the past century.

As well as these high-profile terms, the release also includes a further instalment from the letter R, this time taking us from request to the start of rh. As previously, the re- words have consisted of a steady run of complex and interesting terms. There are not many ‘easy’ words for the editors in this patch.

But to return to one of the four key terms: we can take Frenchwoman. This is one of the words for which the earliest quotation in OED2 comes from Shakespeare (the second part of Henry VI), and indeed there are only two further quotations – in one of which the meaning is ‘a woman of ancient Gaul’. The revised entry shows that, not surprisingly, English-speakers have been talking about Frenchwomen since the Middle Ages (from a text written out around 1450 but probably compiled a century earlier). It is a times like these that we are indebted to the work of earlier lexicographers – in this case those working on the Middle English Dictionary. Further extensive documentation takes evidence for the term through the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, up to the present day.

We see different types of revision in the entry for generous. OED2 gives an extremely short etymology taking the form of the word back through French to Latin, and looking sideways at related Spanish and Italian versions.

The revised etymology traces evidence for the various senses of generous along a timeline in French and Latin, before pointing to a wider range of cognate forms in western and southern Europe. In addition, modern evidence allows us to judge more accurately which subsenses seem to continue a continental model, and which appear to be native creations.

Most of the subsenses of the word (there are thirteen senses for the adjective) are provided with earlier documentation, and yet again this is a word which was formerly first recorded in the works of Shakespeare. The earliest reference now comes from Edward Hellowes’s translation from Spanish of Antonio de Guevara’s Familiar Letters of 1575. The entry itself reminds the reader that at first generous meant ‘high-born’, ‘noble’. The ‘bountiful’ and ‘open-handed’ sense comes later.

These are some of the major R words in this release:

request, requiem, require, requisite, requisition, requite, rescind, rescue, research, resemblance, resemble, resentment, reservation, reserve, reservoir, reside, residence, residency, resident, residential, residual, residue, resign, resignation, resilient, resin, resist, resistance, resolute, resolution, resolve, resonance, resonant, resort, resound, resource, respect, respectable, respectful, respecting, respective, respell, respiration, respirator, respire, respite, resplendent, respond, respondent, response, responsibility, responsible, responsive, rest, restaurant, restful, restitution, restive, restless, restoration, restorative, restore, restrain, restraint, restrict, restriction, restrictive, restructure, result, resultant, resume, resumption, resupply, resurface, resurrect, resurrection, resuscitate

retail, retain, retainer, retake, retaliate, retard, retarded, retch, retention, retentive, rethink, reticence, reticulate, retina, retinue, retire, retirement, retort, retouch, retrace, retract, retrain, retread, retreat, retrench, retribution, retrieve, retriever, retro, retroactive, retrofit, retroflex, retrograde, retrogression, retrospection, retrospective, retrovirus, retune, return

reunion, reunite, reuse, rev, revalue, revamp, reveal, reveille, revel, revelation, revelatory, revenge, revenue, reverberate, revere, reverence, reverend, reverent, reverential, reverie, reverse, revert, revetment, review, revile, revise, revision, revisit, revival, revive, revoke, revolt, revolting, revolution, revolutionary, revolutionize, revolve, revue, revulsion, reward, rewarding, rewind, rework, rewrite.

The final stages of work on restaurant witnessed a string of surprises. First, the earliest use moved back from 1826 (a description of the Haymarket in London) to 1823 (the Morning Chronicle of 7 July, noting a new eating house in Paris). As we neared the date set for transferring the data to the dictionary’s web site, an earlier quotation from 1821 was submitted – this time from New York (the Evening Post for 6 July). But by now it seemed that the earliest references, clustered around 1821 and 1823, were for the spelling restaurat. At the last moment, there was a suggestion of a proposed 1766 quotation from Boswell’s journal of his ‘Grand Tour’ on the continent, for ‘restaurant-keeper’. That would have upset the applecart. I’m grateful to John Overholt of the Houghton Library at Harvard, who checked the original manuscript and found that Boswell uses the word ‘traiteur’, which was helpfully anglicized by Boswell’s editor in 1955. After the data was transferred to the web site, a further 1821 predating (from England, this time, has come to light: spelling restaurat; in a description of Paris). We’ll have to wait for July for that to go online. We can’t stop the presses every time a new discovery is made!

John Simpson

Chief Editor, Oxford English Dictionary

New words

Despite their kinship with noise, interjections don’t seem to attract much attention from language commentators. It’s true that in many cases there is little to say about their origins and meanings. Typically, they’re simple (if varyingly effective) attempts to evoke and transcribe natural sounds or involuntary exclamations; imitative in OED‘s description. However, in terms of historical research, they’re interestingly unpredictable. At any point in the history of English, a writer might have decided to transliterate birdsong as seep or peep or chirrup or tweet or twit, and indeed OED dates most of these to the 16th century.

Included in OED‘s latest release, arf seems to be a much more recent addition to the canon of interjections; part of a wave traceable to the emergence of syndicated comic strips in newspapers and magazines during the early decades of the 20th century. Arf is slightly unusual in that it’s been used to convey not one but two common sounds -– a dog’s bark and a person’s laugh – with both senses arising around the same time, and both enduring to the present day.

Our research to date indicates that the earlier of the two senses is the dog’s bark, which we date from 1916 (the laugh sense we’ve traced from 1931). OED records scores of words imitating dogs’ barks: some enduring and familiar (bow-wow, woof, wuff, yap, yelp, yow), others ephemeral, obsolete, or forgotten (baff, baugh, blaff, bough, nyaff, ouch – yes, really – ouff, waffle, yaffle, yamph). Some are generic descriptions, others more specific: arf is generally used to convey the bark of what comedian Eddie Izzard calls “the small yappy-type dog” (OED‘s more sober definition is: representing the bark of a (small) dog, or a human imitation of such a bark).

As with any category of word, some interjections survive simply because they’re highly evocative of (or genuinely close to) the sound itself. Others succeed through artistic patronage. The 16th-century bow-wow isn’t, on reflection, the most evocative rendering of a dog’s bark, but if you wonder why it lasted while others from the period – baff, bough, buff – faded, one simple answer is Shakespeare, who uses it in The Tempest, Act I, Scene ii: Harke, harke, bowgh wawgh: the watch-Dogges barke.

Similarly, both senses of arf were popularized by their associations with irrepressible icons of American comic strips: Little Orphan Annie and Popeye the Sailor. Sandy, Little Orphan Annie’s “canine companion”, wasn’t the first cartoon dog to utter an arf, but his was the bark heard around the world (or at least read across America, in Harold Gray’s widely syndicated cartoon). The Popeye character does seem to have been the source of arf as a representation of laughter, though his distinctive hearty laugh was also represented by original cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar as erf! erf!

One notable after-effect of written exclamations is their capacity to transform or replace the vocal sound they imitate. You may know someone – I do – who laughs with a sort of he-he-he sound straight out of The Beano. I don’t know if this is conditioning or contrivance, and it would probably be futile (as well as impolite) to ask. More often, people will voice the written form as a means of suggesting irony or, ahem, archness. Now, as in that last sentence, one can add a further layer: a written version of the ironic vocalisation. Our evidence for arf shows that it has acquired this status (if you can call it that) as a bet-hedging way to venture a weak joke, pun, or double entendre:
1989 Empire Sept. 103/1 Its sometimes rather shallow (arf arf) story-line is compensated for by its stunning Bond-like locations.
Popeye – not given to irony – probably wouldn’t have laughed at that, but the thought of appearing as a character in the OED‘s own long-running serial might have raised an arf or two from him, or from Sandy.

Michael Proffitt, Managing Editor, Oxford English Dictionary

Below Graeme Diamond, Principal Editor of OED‘s New Words Group, comments on some of the other newly published entries in this quarterly release:

Generation Y n.

As the entry for echo boom demonstrates, labelling generations of people with reference to preceding generations is not new, but here, the handy alphabetical reference point provided by Generation X (itself only added to OED Online in 2001) is utilized to provide a shorthand for the generation that followed. As the first quotation suggests, the homophony of “Y” and “why” also supplies the term with a vague implication of a need to search for answers. Whether we see a Generation Z, and face an alphabetical impasse after that, remains to be seen.

re-rub n.

Although straightforward enough in terms of meaning, this word, from the world of dance music, for a remixed version of an existing piece of music, is somewhat more mysterious with regard to its origin. Our first recorded instance is from the title of a 1992 remix, but quite why the second element rub is employed is not entirely clear. A link with redub seems possible, perhaps via a punning use of rub-a-dub, or it’s just possible that the sense intended is something like “a second polish”. No conclusive evidence has as yet been uncovered.

superbug n.

As a strain of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, this is a very familiar word to most, especially from media reports about MRSA. Our entry demonstrates that it has other meanings, however, some of them even somewhat laudatory. It first appears in 1916, with reference to bugs of the insectile sort, then moves on to microorganisms in 1945, initially of the exceptionally vigorous type which leads to our well-known antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but additionally, in 1959, giving rise to a bug super in a more orthodox way, one with unusual properties which make it potentially useful.

techy adj.1 and techy adj.2

This quarterly release for OED Online features revised entries for the terms beginning with tech-, and these two adjectives, with different etymological derivations, highlight two of the more modern developments which characterize this sequence of words. The first is a somewhat informal way of designating technological sophistication or complication, and the people with expertise in or enthusiasm for this field. The second, taking up the dance music theme from re-rub above, relates to music which shows to some degree the influence of the techno genre.

 

List of new words

In addition to revised versions of Second edtion entries, the revised range requalify to Rg contained the following new entries:

  • requinto, n.
  • requisitionary, adj.
  • reradiating, adj.
  • re-raise, n.
  • re-rate, v.
  • re-reeled, adj.
  • re-reform, n.
  • re-regulate, v.
  • re-regulation, n.
  • re-rendering, n.
  • re-resolved, adj.
  • rerig, v.
  • rerigging, n.
  • re-rub, n.
  • res, n.2
  • resacralize, v.
  • resample, n.
  • resample, v.
  • res angusta domi, n.
  • resarciating, n.
  • resarciation, n.
  • rescindible, adj.
  • resculpt, v.
  • resculpting, n.
  • re-season, v.
  • Reserva, n.
  • reserve grade, n.
  • resharpening, n.
  • reshipping, n.
  • reshoot, n.
  • residing, adj.
  • residuate, v.
  • resight, v.
  • resiliating, adj.
  • resinated, adj.
  • resiner, n.
  • resining, n.1
  • resining, n.2
  • res inter alios acta, phr.
  • -resist, comb. form
  • resize, v.
  • resold, adj.
  • resolubility, n.2
  • resonation, n.
  • re-sorting, n.2
  • respecify, v.
  • respecting, n.
  • respecting, adj.
  • resplendour | resplendor, v.2
  • respring, v.2
  • respringing, n.2
  • res publica, n.
  • ressie, n.
  • restarter, n.
  • restio, n.
  • resto, n.
  • restorator, n.
  • restrictivism, n.
  • restrictory, adj.
  • restructure, n.
  • restyle, n.
  • resubdue, v.
  • re-subjected, adj.
  • resue, n.
  • resue, v.
  • res universitatis, n.
  • resupine, v.
  • resurrectable, adj.
  • resurrectible, adj.
  • resurveying, n.
  • resus, n.
  • Ret, n.3
  • retainage, n.
  • retally, n.
  • retally, v.2
  • retardency, n.
  • retax, v.
  • retching, adj.
  • ret’d, v.
  • reteam, v.
  • retem, n.
  • retempering, n.
  • retender, n.
  • retexture, n.1
  • retexturize, v.
  • rethatching, n.
  • reticulopodial, adj.
  • reticulopodium, n.
  • Retin-A, n.2
  • retinoscope, n.
  • retitle, v.
  • retortable, adj.2
  • retracing, n.
  • retractibility, n.
  • retractible, adj.
  • retracting, adj.2
  • retractor, n.2
  • retributionist, n.
  • retrigger, v.
  • retro, adj. and n.2
  • retroceding, n.
  • retroceding, adj.
  • retrocess, v.
  • retroduce, v.
  • retroperitoneum, n.
  • retroreflection, n.
  • Retrovir, n.
  • retrusible, adj.
  • retry, n.
  • Rett, n.
  • return rate, n.
  • revaccination, n.
  • revaluating, n.
  • revelrous, adj.
  • reventing, n.
  • reverize, v.
  • reversed-out, adj.
  • reverse-engineer, v.
  • reverse engineering, n.
  • revestment, n.2
  • revibrating, n.
  • revibrating, adj.
  • reviewee, n.
  • revirginize, v.
  • revision, v.
  • revisioning, n.
  • revisioning, adj.
  • revisualization, n.
  • revisualize, v.
  • revivicate, v.
  • revivificating, adj.
  • revoicing, n.
  • revolutionaire, n.
  • revolutionalize, v.
  • rewatch, v.
  • reweight, v.
  • rewild, v.
  • rework, n.
  • rewound, adj.
  • rewrap, v.
  • Rf, n.
  • Rg, n.

In addition to these new entries, a number of new subordinate entries were added to existing entries. These included:

  • (Under request, n.1)
    • request for proposal
  • (Under request, v.1)
    • requestable
    • requesting
  • (Under requisition, v.)
    • requisitioned
  • (Under re-rate, v.)
    • re-rating
  • (Under re-roof, v.)
    • reroofing
  • (Under resacralize, v.)
    • resacralization
  • (Under resample, v.)
    • resampling
  • (Under rescind, v.)
    • rescinded
  • (Under rescue, n.)
    • rescue bid
    • rescue dog
    • rescue drug
    • rescue fantasy
    • rescue finance
    • rescue financing
    • rescue medication
    • rescue package
    • rescue remedy
    • rescue attempt
    • rescue centre
  • (Under research, n.1)
    • research hospital
    • research park
    • research activity
    • research agency
    • research agenda
    • research analyst
    • research associate
    • research board
    • research budget
    • research centre
    • research chemist
    • research data
    • research design
    • research director
    • research establishment
    • research facility
    • research finding
    • research funding
    • research group
    • research initiative
    • research institute
    • research material
    • research method
    • research methodology
    • research model
    • research organization
    • research paper
    • research proposal
    • research rocket
    • research scholar
    • research scientist
    • research ship
    • research skill
    • research staff
    • research study
    • research team
    • research technician
    • research technique
    • research tool
    • research topic
    • research trip
    • research university
  • (Under reserve, n. and adj.)
    • reserve bench
    • reserve champion
    • reserve clause
    • reserve number
    • reserve ticket
  • (Under reserved, adj. and n.)
    • reserved word
  • (Under reservoir, n.)
    • reservoirful
  • (Under resettlement, n.)
    • Resettlement Administration
  • (Under reshift, v.)
    • reshifting
  • (Under residence, n.1)
    • residence hall
    • residence order
  • (Under residency, n.)
    • residency application
    • residency director
    • residency order
    • residency papers
    • residency permit
    • residency programme
    • residency requirement
    • residency rights
    • residency status
    • residency training
  • (Under resident, adj. and n.1)
    • resident alien
    • resident ambassador
    • residents’ association
  • (Under residential, adj.2 and n.)
    • residential care
    • residential home
    • residential school
  • (Under residual, adj.)
    • residual body
    • residual current
    • residual current device
    • residual herbicide
    • residual oil
    • residual sugar
    • residual volume
  • (Under residual, n.)
    • residual hypothesis
  • (Under resight, v.)
    • resighting
  • (Under resin, n. and adj.)
    • resin flux
    • resin-gall
    • resin-gall moth
    • resin grass
    • resin midge
    • resin-coated
  • (Under resinic, adj.)
    • resinic acid
  • (Under resistance, n.)
    • resistance band
    • resistance gene
    • resistance level
    • resistance wire
    • resistance training
  • (Under resist, n.)
    • resist-dyed
  • (Under resistive, adj. and n.)
    • resistive heating
  • (Under resistivity, n.)
    • resistivity measurement
  • (Under resize, v.)
    • resizable
    • resized
  • (Under resolved, adj.)
    • resolved flaking
  • (Under resolving, n.)
    • resolving gel
  • (Under resonance, n.)
    • resonance level
  • (Under resort, n.)
    • court of resort
    • court of last resort
    • resort complex
    • resort course
    • resort development
    • resort community
    • resort destination
    • resort property
  • (Under resource, n.)
    • resource area
    • resource person
    • resource recovery
    • resource room
    • resource teacher
    • resource availability
    • resource book
    • resource conservation
    • resource consumption
    • resource content
    • resource depletion
    • resource development
    • resource exploitation
    • resource guide
    • resource management
    • resource mobilization
    • resource use
    • resource utilization
    • resource-dependent
    • resource-sharing
    • resource-hungry
    • resource-rich
    • resource-starved
  • (Under resourceful, adj.)
    • resourcefully
  • (Under resow, v.)
    • resowing
  • (Under respiratory, adj.)
    • respiratory acidosis
    • respiratory alkalosis
    • respiratory chain
    • respiratory distress syndrome
    • respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn
    • adult respiratory distress syndrome
  • (Under respite, n.)
    • respite care
    • respite centre
    • respite home
    • respite service
  • (Under respite, v.)
    • respited
  • (Under response, n.)
    • response curve
    • response variable
  • (Under restaurant, n.)
    • restaurant critic
  • (Under restauration, n.1)
    • restauration day
  • (Under rest, n.1)
    • restward
  • (Under resting, n.1)
    • resting potential
    • resting stage
    • resting tremor
    • resting wimble
  • (Under restless, adj. and adv.)
    • restless legs
    • restless legs syndrome
  • (Under restoration, n.)
    • Restoration Day
    • restoration ecology
    • restoration programme
    • restoration project
  • (Under restorative, adj. and n.)
    • restorative justice
  • (Under restoring, adj.)
    • restoring force
  • (Under restraint, n.)
    • restraint order
    • restraint summons
  • (Under restriction, n.)
    • restriction fragment
    • restriction fragment length polymorphism
    • restriction map
    • restriction site
  • (Under restrictor, n.)
    • restrictor plate
  • (Under result, n. (and int.))
    • result-driven
    • result-oriented
    • results-driven
    • results-focused
    • results-oriented
  • (Under resumptive, adj. and n.)
    • resumptive pronoun
  • (Under resurrection, n.)
    • resurrection pudding
  • (Under resuspend, v.)
    • resuspended
  • (Under retail, n.1, adj., and adv.)
    • retail bank
    • retail banker
    • retail banking
  • (Under retention, n.)
    • retention bonus
    • retention cyst
  • (Under reticular, adj.)
    • reticular fibre
  • (Under reticulate, adj.)
    • reticulate python
  • (Under retinal, adj.)
    • retinal image
  • (Under retino-, comb. form)
    • retinomotor
    • retinotopically
  • (Under retinopathy, n.)
    • retinopathy of prematurity
  • (Under retinoscopy, n.)
    • retinoscopist
  • (Under retinue, v.)
    • retinued
  • (Under retirement, n.)
    • retirement flat
    • retirement annuity
    • retirement asset
    • retirement benefit
    • retirement fund
    • retirement income
    • retirement package
    • retirement pay
    • retirement plan
    • retirement portfolio
    • retirement scheme
  • (Under retitle, v.)
    • retitled
    • retitling
  • (Under retool, v.)
    • retooled
  • (Under retort, n.1)
    • retort cell
    • retort stand
    • retort-shaped
  • (Under retractile, adj.1)
    • retractile activity
    • retractile mesenteritis
  • (Under retreat, n.)
    • retreat centre
  • (Under retroact, v.)
    • retro’acting
  • (Under retroactive, adj.)
    • retroactive amnesia
  • (Under retro, adj. and n.2)
    • retromania
  • (Under retro-, prefix)
    • retrocurved
    • retrodeflect
    • retrodeviation
    • retroduct
    • retroelement
    • retrolocation
    • retromorphosis
    • retrosynthetic
    • retrotransposition
  • (Under retrofit, v.)
    • retrofittable
  • (Under retrograde, adj., n., and adv.)
    • retrograde ejaculation
  • (Under retrograde, v.)
    • retrograded
  • (Under return, n.)
    • clause of return
    • return to work
    • return carriage
    • return catch
    • return fire
    • return key
    • return man
    • return pass
    • return path
    • return stall
    • return boat
    • return bus
    • return coach
    • return horse
    • return train
    • return trip
    • return fixture
    • return line
  • (Under return, v.1)
    • return-to-zero
  • (Under returning, adj.)
    • returning board
  • (Under reunify, v.)
    • reunified
  • (Under reunion, n.)
    • reunion tour
  • (Under reusable, adj.)
    • reusable launch vehicle
  • (Under revalue, v.)
    • revalued
  • (Under rev, n.2)
    • rev limiter
  • (Under revenge, n.)
    • revenge fantasy
    • revenge mission
    • revenge plot
  • (Under revenue, n.)
    • revenue bill
    • revenue bond
    • revenue enhancement
    • revenue-neutral
    • revenue stream
    • revenue tax
    • revenue deficit
  • (Under reverend, adj. and n.)
    • Reverend Mother
    • reverend-like
  • (Under reversal, n.)
    • reversal potential
  • (Under reverse, adj. and adv.)
    • reverse arch
    • reverse auction
    • reverse curve
    • reverse dictionary
    • reverse genetics
    • reverse micelle
    • reverse mortgage
    • reverse phase
    • reverse plate
    • reverse premium
    • reverse psychology
    • reverse racism
    • reverse split
    • reverse stock split
    • reverse swing
    • reverse transcribe
    • reverse video
    • reverse polarized
    • reverse-tapered
  • (Under reversed, adj.)
    • reversed charge
    • reversed phase
  • (Under reverse-engineer, v.)
    • reverse-engineered
  • (Under reversible, adj. and n.)
    • reversible error
  • (Under reversion, n.1)
    • reversion spectroscope
  • (Under review, n.)
    • house of review
    • review book
    • reviews page
  • (Under revirginize, v.)
    • revirginization
    • re-virginized
  • (Under revisable, adj.)
    • revisability
  • (Under revised, adj.)
    • Revised Standard Version
  • (Under revitalize, v.)
    • revitalizer
    • revitalizing
  • (Under revolutionary, adj. and n.)
    • Revolutionary War
  • (Under revolver, n.)
    • revolver bullet
  • (Under revolver, v.)
    • revolvering
  • (Under revolving, adj.)
    • revolving rifle
  • (Under rewardable, adj.)
    • rewardability
  • (Under reward, n.)
    • reward card
    • reward claim
  • (Under reweight, v.)
    • reweighted
    • reweighting
  • (Under re-wet, v.)
    • rewetting
  • (Under rewild, v.)
    • rewilding
  • (Under rex, n.1 and adj.)
    • rex sole

Out-of-sequence new entries

11 March 2011 also saw the publication of the the following new entries from across the alphabet:

  • amour fou, n.
  • anacidity, n.
  • anterograde, adj.
  • anti-inflammatory, adj. and n.
  • anti-inflation, adj.
  • anti-inflationary, adj.
  • anti-inflationist, n. and adj.
  • arf, int.
  • awayday, n.
  • backslap, n.
  • beauty contest, n.
  • bendy bus, n.
  • canola, n.
  • cointegrate, n.
  • corpocracy, n.
  • enter, n.2
  • Francoism, n.
  • Francophonie, n.
  • French colonial, adj. and n.
  • French cut, n. and adj.
  • French English, n.
  • French-English, adj.
  • French harp, n.
  • frenching, n.
  • French lock, n.1
  • French polishing, n.
  • generationally, adv.
  • Generation Y, n.
  • generativism, n.
  • generativity, n.
  • genericity, n.
  • Genevating, adj.
  • Heimlich manoeuvre | Heimlich maneuver, n.
  • info-, comb. form
  • info age, n.
  • infoliate, adj.
  • infoliated, adj.
  • in-form, adj.2
  • informalize, v.
  • informance, n.2
  • informatic, adj.
  • informatization, n.
  • informator choristarum, n.
  • Infortiatum, n.
  • over-resourced, adj.
  • Paul Revere, n.
  • rasour, n.
  • superbug, n.
  • tech, n.3
  • techne, n.
  • technicity, n.
  • technikon, n.
  • technocentric, adj.
  • techno-head, n.
  • technoid, adj. and n.
  • technomic, adj.
  • techy, adj.1
  • techy, adj.2
  • under-resourced, adj.

In addition to these new entries, the following out-of-sequence subordinate entries were added:

  • (Under astral, adj. and n.)
    • astral plane
    • astral projection
  • (Under balanced, adj.)
    • balanced polymorphism
  • (Under bargain, n.1)
    • bargain bin
    • bargain-bin
    • bargain break
  • (Under barking, adj.1)
    • barking mad
  • (Under belief, n.)
    • belief system
  • (Under carriage, n.)
    • carriage return
  • (Under disease, n.)
    • disease-resistant
  • (Under enter, v.)
    • enter key
  • (Under ento-, prefix)
    • entorhinal
  • (Under equity, n.)
    • equity release
  • (Under French, adj. and n.)
    • French boot
    • French-based
    • French-born
    • French-derived
    • French-influenced
    • French-inspired
    • French-made
    • French-trained
    • French brandy
    • French cruller
    • French fact
    • French flageolet
    • French furlough
    • to take (a) French furlough
    • to take French furlough
    • to take a French furlough
    • French Impressionism
    • French Impressionist
    • French ivory
    • French knitting
    • French loaf
    • French paradox
    • French pitch
    • French Resistance
    • French 75
    • French tickler
    • French vermouth
    • French angelfish
    • French grunt
    • French tarragon
    • French speaker
  • (Under Frenchify, v.)
    • Frenchifying
  • (Under general, adj. and n.)
    • general of the army
    • general adaptation syndrome
    • general admission
    • general aviation
    • General Certificate of Secondary Education
    • general contractor
    • General Council of the Bar
    • general delivery
    • general ledger
    • general linguist
    • general linguistics
    • general manager
    • general paralysis
    • general precession
    • general receiver
    • general relativity
    • general secretary
    • General Synod
  • (Under generalized, adj.)
    • generalized anxiety disorder
  • (Under generating, adj.)
    • generating company
    • generating plant
  • (Under generating, n.)
    • generating capacity
  • (Under generation, n.)
    • generation ship
  • (Under Generation Y, n.)
    • Generation Yer
  • (Under generative, adj.)
    • generative-transformational
  • (Under genesis, n.)
    • genesis rock
  • (Under Geneva, n.)
    • Geneva motion
  • (Under Helmholtz, n.)
    • Helmholtz resonator
  • (Under hold, v.)
    • to hold (a person or thing) responsible
  • (Under info-, comb. form)
    • infocentre
    • infoglut
    • infographic
    • infoline
    • infostructure
    • infonaut
    • infopreneurial
  • (Under infoliate, v.)
    • infoliating
  • (Under informal, adj.)
    • informal settlement
  • (Under information, n.)
    • information centre
    • information-handling
    • information broker
    • information age
    • information architect
    • information architecture
    • information booth
    • information operator
  • (Under link, n.2)
    • link farm
  • (Under source, n.)
    • source tree
  • (Under stacking, n.)
    • stacking gel
  • (Under staff, n.1)
    • staff-rew
  • (Under tech, adj.)
    • tech support
    • tech talk
  • (Under tech, n.4)
    • tech wreck
  • (Under technical, adj. and n.)
    • technical analysis
    • technical analyst
    • technical drawing
    • technical grade
    • technical rehearsal
    • technical water
  • (Under Technicolor, n. and adj.)
    • Technicolor yawn
    • to do (also have) a (also the) Technicolor yawn
    • to do a Technicolor yawn
    • to do the Technicolor yawn
    • to have a Technicolor yawn
  • (Under techno-, comb. form)
    • techno-cultural
    • techno-environmental
    • technoculture
    • techno-environment
    • techno-fetishism
    • techno-fix
    • techno-hippy
    • techno-jargon
    • techno-junkie
    • techno-nationalism
    • techno-nerd
    • technopark
    • technophilia
    • technophilic
    • techno-savvy
    • technospeak
  • (Under technocratic, adj.)
    • technocratically
  • (Under wal, n.)
    • wal-reif
    • wal-rest

Finally, new meanings were added to the following entries:

  • abduction, n.
  • antiseptic, adj. and n.
  • any, adj. and pron.
  • anything, pron., n., and adv.
  • anyway, adv. and conj.
  • arrival, n.
  • arrive, v.
  • at, prep.
  • awesome, adj.
  • bag, n.
  • bag, v.1
  • barking, adj.1
  • beating, n.
  • belter, n.
  • calorific, adj.
  • enter, v.
  • franchise, n.
  • franchise, v.
  • French, adj. and n.
  • French, v.
  • Frenched, adj.
  • French kiss, n.
  • French lock, n.2
  • Frenchy, n.
  • generalist, n. and adj.
  • generalize, v.
  • generant, n. and adj.
  • generate, v.
  • generation, n.
  • generator, n.
  • generic, adj. and n.
  • generosity, n.
  • generous, adj. and n.
  • Geneva, n.
  • get, v.
  • infoliate, v.
  • infoliation, n.
  • inform, v.
  • informal, adj.
  • information, n.
  • infortunate, adj. and n.
  • link, n.2
  • saturated, adj.
  • schedule, v.
  • scheduled, adj.
  • specify, v.
  • technical, adj. and n.
  • technographer, n.
  • technography, n.