Q. Do you use the OED ? or do you have another dictionary you prefer ?Why, I do indeed use the OED. It's sitting open on a tansu in the entryway.
I used it a lot when I was perpetrating my historical novel. You can use the etymologies to see if a concept is anachronistic or not. For example, if you're wondering if "colonialism" is anachronistic in 5th C Britain, it's not: colonia is Latin, and it meant exactly what it does in English.
However if I need a quick definition I Google it.
I'm just going to assume you kids are talking about an abridged version of the OED... otherwise, that must be some Tansu!
ReplyDeleteCompleted but compressed OED -- it's in something like 4 pt type!
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