June 2010 update

On 10 June 2010 the alphabetical range Rh-rococoesque was added to the New Edition: every word in this range has been thoroughly revised and updated. Below are listed all the new words in the range. We have also added a further list of new words from across the alphabet. The OED‘s chief editor, John Simpson, provides some observations on the revision of this section of the alphabet, and Katherine Martin comments on some of the most interesting new words in the batch.

Revisions

The pace of semantic change can be fast, and these days (and I’m talking in contrast to the days of the First Edition of the OED) we have resources to capture this. In 1920 the Czech writer Karel Čapek published his play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) – in Czech, but with a strange new word (in English) in the title. Čapek said that the word was suggested to him by his brother Josef (from Czech robota ‘forced labour, drudgery’). In 1922 the play was performed in an English translation in New York. And straightaway English-language sources started to record this new word robot: ‘an intelligent artificial being typically made of metal and resembling in some way a human or other animal’. The following year (1923) we find people being referred to as ‘robots’, and by 1927 (back in the United States) the new word was linked specifically to developments in what would later become known as ‘robotics’, and we have robot used in the sense ‘a machine capable of automatically carrying out a complex series of movements’.

This is one of the rapid shifts in meaning tracked in the OED Online’s latest release of revised and updated entries (Rh – rococoesque). There are plenty of other examples which make the same point. Take rip-off. By assembling the available recorded evidence for the term, we can say fairly confidently that English speakers were first aware of this new term in 1968 (in ‘rip-off artist’). At the time, the sense was ‘a theft, a swindle’. But almost without hesitation English speakers started to play with the word, and in 1969 we find the common ‘imitation’ sense.

Often this creative rapidity crosses language barriers, and this is perhaps most apparent with scientific terms. Riboflavin (vitamin B₂) was coined in German in 1935, and its occurrence in English-language scientific source dates from the same year.

It’s fascinating to look at these new arrivals in the language, to see how the historical record addresses this speed of change. If the gap between one sense and another is long, does this mean that the new meaning wasn’t needed till later, or that the record is incomplete?

These are the major words revised in the present release:

rhapsody, rhetoric, rhetorical, rheumatic, rhinoceros, rhizome, rhododendron, rhomboid, rhombus, rhubarb, rhyme, rhythm, rhythmic, rib, ribald, ribbon, rice, rich, rick, ricochet, rid, riddance, riddle, ride, ridge, ridicule, riding, rife, riffle, rifle, rift, rig, right, rigid, rigor, rigour, rile, rill, rim, rime, rind, ring, ringer, ringlet, ringmaster, ringside, rink, rinse, riot, riotous, rip, ripe, ripen, rip-off, riposte, ripper, ripping, ripple, rise, riser, rising, risk, risky, risqué, rissole, rite, ritual, rival, river, rivet, roach, road, roam, roan, roar, roast, rob, robber, robe, robin, robot, robotics, robust, rock, rocker, rockery, rocket, rocky, rococo

Of these, the most significant (in terms of size) are ride, ring, and rise. But the range itself is very varied, after the uniformity of the re- words. Rhinoceros shows medieval and Early Modern writers coming to terms with the extraordinary animal; rock ‘n’ roll documents the emergence and pervasiveness of another extraordinary animal of the 20th century and beyond. The first ‘rockets’ (mid sixteenth century) were fireworks; just after the end of the First World War, in 1919, we began to discuss rocket-powered projectiles. The revolutionary Tom Paine is currently the person first recorded (1782) as claiming that a politician would ‘rise like a rocket and fall like a stick’.

In line with the gradual extension of online searchable historical texts, it is perhaps not surprising that the percentage of words and senses antedated in this release has risen to just over 60% (from around 30% in the revised sections in 2000).

Restaurant reprised

Readers of last quarter’s publication notes will know that, with the aid of numerous readers’ contributions, we had identified 1821 as the year in which eating houses named ‘restaurants’ started to spring up in Britain and America. I’m grateful to those of you who have taken up the challenge to find still earlier references. The current version of the entry includes two early outliers: one, from 1815, describing coffee-houses and ‘an excellent restaurant’ in Paris; the other, from 1806, using the word in a translation of the ‘Regulations of the Literary Society of Antwerp’.

The word is recorded in its modern sense in French from at least 1771, so it is possible the other earlier uses may be discovered. But at present the establishment of such establishments in New York and London can still be dated to 1821.

John Simpson, Chief Editor, Oxford English Dictionary

New words

exa- comb. form

At the time of OED‘s initial publication, the SI (International System of Units) prefix exa- (denoting a factor of 10¹⁸, or a quintillion, in names of units of measurement) did not yet exist. Now that it is entering the dictionary, its etymology is worth highlighting. Building on the coincidence that the prefix tera- comb. form (deriving from a Greek word for ‘monster’ and corresponding to 10¹², or 1000⁴) is only one letter removed from tetra- comb. form (four), the higher-order SI prefixes have been formed through alteration of roots corresponding to the factor by which they exceed 1000. In the case of peta- comb. form (10¹⁵, or 1000⁵), penta- comb. form (from the Greek for five) has been altered by removing the letter ‘n’; exa- (1000⁶) comes from hexa- comb. form (from the Greek for six), altered by removal of the ‘h’. The scale represented by exa- is so vast that it is seldom encountered in daily life. The majority of evidence for the use of the prefix in the OED files is in the word exabyte, denoting the equivalent of 1 billion gigabytes. It has been estimated that all of the digital information created and duplicated in 2009 amounted to about 800 exabytes, which can be visualized as a stack of DVDs reaching from the earth to the moon and back.

Richard Snary n.

This 17th-century slang term for ‘dictionary’, based on the resemblance of the first syllable of that word to the pet name Dick (Dick n.¹), is a laboured pun which gained enough traction to persist for over 200 years and even cross the Atlantic before finally falling into obsolescence. The 1761 quotation in OED‘s entry is from a long-winded joke in which an ignorant servant, sent to borrow a dictionary (likely pronounced with elision of the second and third syllables), interprets the word as a man’s forename and surname, but politely asks for Mr Richard Snary rather than the more familiar ‘Dick’. Much of the evidence found by OED researchers seems self-consciously humorous; one suspects that those who used the term would have delighted to be asked what it meant, so as to have the excuse to deliver what is essentially a joke with an etymological punchline.

riffage n.

One surprise of this range was the fecundity of riff n.⁵ (and riff v.¹) in producing new nouns referring to the playing of catchy musical phrases. Besides riffage, this update also includes new entries for the whimsical riffola n. and the retro rifferama n. These words entered the English language amid an explosion of popular music journalism in the second half of the twentieth century, coined by critics who apparently felt limited by the staid predictability of riffing n. The three new entries are only the tip of a neologistic iceberg: OED‘s files also contain examples of riffery, riffdom, riffmongery, and riffology, among others which may eventually be considered for inclusion in future updates.

Katherine Connor Martin, Senior Editor, New Words, OED

List of new words

• Rh, n.¹
• Rhaetical, adj.
• rhamnaceous, adj.
• rhamnitol, n.
• Rhamphorhynchus, n.
• rhandir, n.
• rhapsodized, adj.
• rhathymia, n.
• rhedarium, n.
• Rheic, adj.²
• rheography, n.
• rhetoricity, n.
• rheumatological, adj.
• rhingyll, n.
• rhinolaryngological, adj.
• rhinolophid, adj. and n.
• rhinosinusitis, n.
• Rhipaean | Rhipean, adj.
• rhipidoglossan, adj.
• rhizocephalan, n. and adj.
• rhizomatic, adj.
• rhizomatist, n.
• rhizopodial, adj.
• rhizotron, n.
• Rhode Islander, n.
• Rhodiola, n.
• Rhodophyta, n.
• rhodostannite, n.
• Rhody, n.
• rhoicissus, n.
• rhombical, adj.
• rhombically, adv.
• rhombicuboctahedron, n.
• rhombomere, n.
• Rhombozoa, n.
• rhoptry, n.
• rhotic, adj.
• rhynchocephalic, adj.
• rhynchocoelan, n. and adj.
• rhyncholith, n.
• rhyparograph, n.
• rhythmica, n.
• riad, n.
• rib, n.⁴
• riba, n.
• ribaldo, n.
• ribattuta, n.
• ribavirin, n.
• ribbie, n.²
• ribollita, n.
• riboside, n.
• ribostamycin, n.
• Ricardian, adj.² and n.²
• Riccati, n.
• rice burner, n.
• riced, adj.¹
• rice stick, n.
• Richardia, n.¹
• Richard Snary, n.
• Richardsonian, adj.²
• richly, adj. (and n.)
• Richmond birdwing, n.
• ricine, n.
• ricinolate, n.
• ricinolein, n.
• ricinus, n.²
• ricked, adj.¹
• rickettsiosis, n.
• rico, n.¹
• RID, n.²
• riddim, n.
• riddlesome, adj.
• RIDE, n.³
• ride-along, n.
• ridge tiling, n.
• ridibund, adj.
• riding surveyor, n.
• Riel, n.¹
• rifferama, n.
• riffola, n.
• -rific, comb. form
• rifledom, n.
• rig-a-jig, int.
• Rigel Kent, n.
• Rigel Kentaurus, n.
• right and left handed, adj.
• right-angularly, adv.
• right brain, n. and adj.
• right-brained, adj.
• Righteous Gentile, n.
• rightify, v.
• rightish, adj.
• -rightist, comb. form
• right justification, n.
• right to choose, n.
• right to know, n.
• right turning, n.
• rigidizing, adj.
• rigolet, n.
• rikishi, n.
• rimming, n.²
• rincon, n.
• rinder, n.²
• rinfresco, n.
• ring-a-ding, int., n., and adj.
• ringal, n.
• ring-a-levio, n. and int.
• Ringatu, n.
• ringback, n.
• ringling, n.¹
• ringmastering, n.
• ring-off, n.
• ring-round, n.
• ring tone, n.
• rinkle, n.
• Rio, n.¹
• rio, n.²
• Riphaean | Riphean, adj.
• ripper, adj.
• ripple, n.¹
• ripple-through, adj.
• ripsawing, n.
• ripstaver, n.
• rip-staving, adj.
• riqq, n.
• rise heading, n.²
• riserva, n.
• risperidone, n.
• risposta, n.
• ristra, n.
• ristretto, n.
• Rittmeister, n.
• rivalling | rivaling, adj.
• rive droite, n.
• riverage, n.
• Rivulus, n.
• rix, v.
• Rix-chancellor, n.
• Rizla, n.
• Rn, n.
• roa, n.
• Roaccutane, n.
• road-blocking, n.
• road-blocking, adj.
• roadkill, n.
• road-trip, v.
• roaner, n.
• roar, v.²
• rob, n.²
• robalo, n.
• Robertine, n.¹
• Roberval balance, n.
• Robespierrean, adj.
• robiola, n.
• robo-, comb. form
• robot, n.¹
• robug, n.
• Robur Carolinum, n.
• rock-and-roll, v.
• rock-based, adj.²
• rock-climbing, adj.
• rocker, v.
• rock idol, n.²
• rockiness, n.²
• rockism, n.²
• rockist, n. and adj.
• rock jock, n.¹
• rock jock, n.²
• rock-out, n.
• rock paper scissors, n.
• rockscape, n.
• rocky road, n.

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

• (Under rhamno-, comb. form)
  • rhamnoglucoside
  • rhamnoglycoside
  • rhamnohexose
• (Under Rheic, adj.²)
  • Rheic ocean
• (Under rheo-, comb. form)
  • rheocasting
  • rheocline
• (Under rheography, n.)
  • rheographic
• (Under rhetorical, adj.)
  • rhetorical analysis
  • rhetorical theory
  • rhetorical trope
• (Under rheumatic, adj. and n.)
  • rheumatic-like
• (Under rheumatize, v.)
  • rheumatized
• (Under rheumy, adj.)
  • rheumily
• (Under Rhineland, n.)
  • Rhineland rod
• (Under rhino, n.²)
  • rhino-like
• (Under rhinoceros, n.)
  • Rhinoceros Party
• (Under rhinoscopic, adj.)
  • rhinoscopically
• (Under rhizo-, comb. form)
  • rhizodontrophy
  • rhizomania
• (Under rhizocarpic, adj.)
  • rhizocarpic acid
• (Under rhizomorph, n.)
  • rhizomorphic
• (Under Rhizopoda, n.)
  • rhizopodist
• (Under Rhode Island, n.)
  • Rhode Island sloop
  • Rhode Island cheese
  • Rhode Island currency
  • Rhode Island money
  • Rhode Island johnnycake
• (Under rhombic, adj. and n.)
  • rhombic mica
  • rhombic pyrites
  • rhombic quartz
• (Under rhombomere, n.)
  • rhombomeric
• (Under Rhombozoa, n.)
  • rhombozoan
• (Under rhubarb, n. and adj.)
  • rhubarb drink
  • rhubarb triangle
• (Under rhythm, n.)
  • rhythm box
  • rhythm stick
  • rhythm system
• (Under rhythmic, adj. and n.)
  • rhythmic breathing
  • rhythmic gymnast
• (Under riband, n.)
  • riband development
• (Under ribbed, adj.)
  • ribbed melilot
  • ribbed mussel
• (Under rib, n.¹)
  • rib meristem
  • rib riding
  • rib-striped snout
  • rib-welted
• (Under ribbon, n.)
  • ribbon bed
  • ribbon cable
  • ribbon cutting
  • ribbon-cutting ceremony
  • ribbon lake
  • ribbon-rasp
  • ribbon shirt
  • ribbon plant
  • ribbon tree
  • ribbon weed
• (Under rib-tickling, adj.)
  • rib-ticklingly
• (Under rice, n.²)
  • rice bug
  • rice blast
  • rice bubbles
  • rice fanner
  • rice rocket
  • rice vinegar
  • rice cheesecake
  • rice florentine
  • rice tart
  • rice estate
  • rice barrel
  • rice cask
  • rice sieve
  • rice vessel
• (Under riced, adj.²)
  • riced milk
• (Under rice paper, n. and adj.)
  • rice paper painting
• (Under rich, adj., n., and adv.)
  • rich bitch
  • rich blood
  • rich-field
  • rich kid
  • rich text
  • Rich Text Format
• (Under ricinelaidic, adj.)
  • ricinelaidate
  • ricinelaidin
• (Under ricinoleic, adj.)
  • ricinoleamide
• (Under ricinus, n.²)
  • ricinian
• (Under rickettsia, n.)
  • rickettsia-like
• (Under ricochet, n.)
  • ricochet effect
• (Under riddel, n.)
  • riddel post
• (Under ride, n.²)
  • ride-share
  • ride quality
• (Under ride, v.)
  • to ride out
  • to ride over——
• (Under ridge, n.¹)
  • ridge land
• (Under ridicule, n.²)
  • ridicule basket
• (Under ridiculous, adj., n., and adv.)
  • ridiculous-sounding
• (Under riding, adj.)
  • riding crosstree
  • riding groom
• (Under riding, n.¹)
  • riding cloth
  • riding exercise
  • riding lamp
  • riding stick
  • riding belt
  • riding breeches
  • riding frock
  • riding saddle
  • riding camel
  • riding gelding
  • riding mare
  • riding nag
  • riding road
  • riding weather
• (Under riding, n.²)
  • riding association
• (Under Riemann, n.)
  • Riemann sphere
  • Riemann space
  • Riemann curvature
  • Riemann curvature tensor
  • Riemann sum
• (Under riffle, n.)
  • riffle beetle
• (Under rifle, n.³)
  • rifle bolt
  • rifle shirt
  • rifle ammunition
  • rifle cartridge
  • rifle powder
  • rifle scabbard
  • rifle shell
  • rifle stock
  • rifle trigger
  • rifle platoon
  • rifle troop
  • rifle-toting
• (Under rift, n.²)
  • rift zone
• (Under rigging, n.²)
  • rigging position
  • rigging rope
  • rigging slinger
• (Under right and left handed, adj.)
  • right and left handed screw
• (Under right, adj. and int.)
  • right-arm
  • right circular
  • right-circularly
  • right-click
  • right corner
  • right-footed
  • right prismatic
  • right–wrong
  • right tackle
• (Under right, n.)
  • right of abode
  • writ of right patent
• (Under right-eye, adj.)
  • righteye flounder
• (Under right-eyed, adj.)
  • right-eyed flounder
• (Under right hand, n. and adj.)
  • right-hand rule
  • Fleming’s right-hand rule
• (Under rigid, adj. and n.)
  • rigid body
• (Under rima, n.)
  • rimal
• (Under rim, v.⁴)
  • rim job
• (Under rimrock, n.)
  • rimrocked
• (Under rimy, adj.)
  • rimy white
• (Under ring, n.¹)
  • ring of steel
  • Ring of Fire
  • ring of iron
  • ring arc
  • ring-around
  • ring beam
  • ring-bound
  • ring chromosome
  • ring composition
  • ringcraft
  • ring doughnut
  • ring galaxy
  • ring gauge
  • ring gear
  • ring knocker
  • ring laser
  • ring laser gyroscope
  • ring light
  • ring modulation
  • ring mould
  • ring mountain
  • ring oscillator
  • ring-piece
  • ring-porey
  • ring post
  • ring room
  • ring-rusty
  • ring-shell
  • ring species
  • ring spinner
  • ring theory
  • ring vaccination
  • ring vortex
  • ring seal
• (Under ringed, adj.)
  • ringed turtle-dove
• (Under ring-fence, v.)
  • ring-fencing
• (Under ring-neck, n.)
  • ring-neck dove
• (Under ring-necked, adj.)
  • ring-necked dove
  • ring-necked plover
• (Under ring-tailed, adj.)
  • ring-tailed cat
  • ring-tailed marlin
• (Under rinse, n.)
  • rinse cycle
  • rinse–hold
  • rinse water
• (Under riot, n.)
  • riot duty
  • riot cop
• (Under rip, v.¹)
  • to rip off
  • rip fence
  • rip job
• (Under rip-off, n.)
  • rip-off Britain
• (Under ripping, n.)
  • ripping bar
• (Under ripple, n.⁵)
  • ripple box
  • ripple drift
  • ripple-fire
• (Under rising, adj.)
  • rising box
  • rising sign
  • rising star
  • rising trot
  • rising vote
• (Under rising, n.)
  • rising of the mother
• (Under risk, n.)
  • risk-adverse
  • risk assessment
  • risk-averse
  • risk function
  • risk group
  • risk manager
  • risk-neutral
  • risk pooling
  • risk sharing
• (Under riskful, adj.)
  • riskfulness
• (Under ritual, adj. and n.)
  • ritual bath
  • ritual dance
  • ritual magic
  • ritual meal
• (Under ritualize, v.)
  • ritualizing
• (Under river, n.¹)
  • river bus
  • river claim
  • river corridor
  • river sand
  • river swamp
  • river washing
  • river cat
  • river fowl
  • river shrimp
  • river cruise
  • river bluff
  • river ward
• (Under riverboat, n.)
  • riverboat casino
  • riverboat gambler
  • riverboat gambling
• (Under riverine, adj. and n.)
  • riverine rabbit
• (Under rivet, n.¹)
  • rivet nail
  • rivet pin
• (Under RNA, n.)
  • RNA world
• (Under roach, n.⁴)
  • roach coach
• (Under road, n.)
  • road belt
  • road cart
  • road cattle
  • road code
  • road fund licence
  • road-going
  • road grader
  • road machine
  • road marking
  • road movie
  • road salt
  • road stud
  • road warrior
  • road closing
  • road closure
  • road crash
  • road fatality
  • road locomotion
  • road network
  • road smash
• (Under roadside, n. and adj.)
  • roadside rest
• (Under road trip, n.)
  • road tripper
• (Under roan, n.²)
  • Roan duck
• (Under roaring, adj. and adv.)
  • roaring camp
• (Under roast, adj.)
  • roast dinner
• (Under robber, n.)
  • robber chieftain
• (Under robbery, n.)
  • robbery charge
  • robbery victim
• (Under rob-, comb. form)
  • rob-house
• (Under robo-, comb. form)
  • robocall
  • robocop
• (Under robot, n.²)
  • robot station
• (Under rock basin, n.)
  • rock-basin lake
• (Under rock, n.²)
  • Rockfeast
• (Under rock, n.¹)
  • rock and rye
  • on-the-rocks glass
  • Rocks and Shoals
  • rock cocaine
  • rock cycle
  • rock fault
  • rocks glass
  • rock spider
  • Rock Cornish
  • Rock Cornish hen
  • Rock Cornish game hen
  • rock jumper
  • rock parrot
  • rock gunnel
  • rock sea bass
  • rock sage
  • rock-dwelling
• (Under rock, n.³)
  • rock chick
  • rock god
  • rock ballad
  • rock concert
  • rock legend
• (Under Rockefeller, n.)
  • Rockefeller Republican
• (Under rocker, n.¹)
  • rocker-bottom
• (Under rocket, n.⁴)
  • rocket salad
• (Under rocket, n.⁵)
  • rocket booster
  • rocket attack
  • rocket barrage
  • rocket firing
• (Under rock ‘n’ roll, n. and adj.)
  • rock ‘n’ roll artist
• (Under Rocky Mountains, n.)
  • Rocky Mountain bighorn
  • Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep
  • Rocky Mountain dormouse
  • Rocky mountain flying squirrel
  • Rocky Mountain rat
  • Rocky mountain whitefish

Out-of-sequence new entries

10 June 2010 also saw the publication of the the following new entries from across the alphabet:

• 4GL, n.
• anilingus, n.
• animal rightist, n.
• anteclypeus, n.
• ascon, n.
• asconoid, adj. and n.
• atelestite, n.
• band-tail, n.
• band-tailed, adj.
• bell-ring, n.
• caffè ristretto, n.
• C. diff., n.
• C. difficile, n.
• colligative, adj.
• data centre | data center, n.
• espresso ristretto, n.
• exa-, comb. form
• full rig, n.
• geoengineering, n.
• halirift, n.
• hindbrain, n.
• hot-dogging, n.
• jatropha, n.
• Latrocinium, n.
• left and right, adv. and n.
• left bower, n.
• leucon, n.
• leuconoid, adj. and n.
• microinvasive, adj.
• neuroprotection, n.
• neuroprotective, adj.
• pellitorine, n.
• rasta roko, n.
• Regaine, n.
• scissors paper stone, n.
• spit roast, n.
• stonerock, n.
• Zantedeschia, n.

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

• (Under Atlantic, adj. and n.)
  • Atlantic ridley
• (Under benefit, n.)
  • benefit package
  • benefits package
  • benefit tourist
  • benefit tourism
• (Under best, adj. and adv.)
  • best bower
• (Under blood, n.)
  • bloodberry
• (Under Boston, n.²)
  • Boston rocker
• (Under cardio-, comb. form)
  • cardioprotection
  • cardioprotective
• (Under C, n.)
  • CGI
• (Under chain, n.)
  • chain ring
• (Under clinical, adj.)
  • clinical pharmacology
• (Under closed, adj.)
  • closed traverse
• (Under complex, adj.)
  • complex manifold
  • complex analytic manifold
• (Under critical, adj.)
  • critical flicker frequency
  • critical opalescence
• (Under early, adj. and n.)
  • early retirer
• (Under fourth, adj. and n.)
  • fourth generation
• (Under heroic, adj. and n.)
  • heroic couplet
• (Under hypnotic, adj. and n.)
  • hypnotic regression
• (Under iambic, adj. and n.)
  • iambic pentameter
• (Under I, n.¹)
  • ICSI
• (Under letter, n.¹)
  • letter of reference
• (Under scalded, adj.¹)
  • scalded skin syndrome
  • staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome
• (Under server, n.)
  • server farm
• (Under shear, n.²)
  • shear strain
• (Under sitting, adj.)
  • sitting trot
• (Under spin, n.¹)
  • spin cycle
• (Under spit-roast, v.)
  • spit-roasting
• (Under staircase, n.)
  • staircase lock
• (Under state, n.)
  • state of repair
• (Under stone, n.)
  • stone of destiny
  • Stone of Scone
• (Under support, n.)
  • support level
• (Under thrombo-, comb. form)
  • thrombophilia
• (Under U, n.¹)
  • USB port
  • USB drive
  • USB flash drive
• (Under wash, n.)
  • wash cycle

Finally, new meanings were added to the following entries:

• answer, n.
• back, n.¹
• benefit, n.
• bilingual, adj.
• change, n.
• cover, v.¹
• covering, n.¹
• covering, adj.
• left, adj.¹, adv., and n.
• left hand, n.
• spit-roast, v.
• wrap, v.