Lexicographic error
Encyclopedia
A lexicographic error is an inaccurate entry in a dictionary
. Such problems, because they undercut the intention of providing authoritative guidance to readers and writers, attract special attention.
An early English-language example was the definition of pastern as "the knee
of a horse
" in Dr. Johnson
's famed 18th-century Dictionary of the English Language. That would suit the word fetlock, but the pastern is in fact a long portion of the leg immediately below the fetlock. When a woman asked him why he had made the error, Johnson, according to Boswell
, replied, "Ignorance, Madam, pure ignorance."
In the 1930s, Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition
accidentally documented, for four years, a supposed word "dord
", whose only basis was a clerical error by the publisher.
The first edition (1987) of the Collins COBUILD
English Language Dictionary contained an entry for a verb hink, which it said was conjugated hinks, hinking, hinked and which it defined as follows: "If you hink, you think hopefully and unrealistically about something." The entry is a ghost word
—included by the editors to trap plagiarists. The wording is the result of an in-house joke. However, some reviewers took it seriously, speculating for example that it is "clearly an error for 'think'." The word was removed from later editions.
In the early 21st century, the online and CD-ROM editions of the Macmillan English Dictionary gave two different spoken readings of the headword for the entry "George, St. – the PATRON SAINT of England": the American reading was the correct "Saint George," but the British reading was "George Street." Presumably the British narrator had been given a list of words to read and the comma after "George" was either missing or overlooked.
Although dictionaries are often expected to be flawless, most lexicographers and people who frequently use dictionaries are keenly aware that all dictionaries contain errors. The preparation of dictionaries requires immense time, expertise and concentration, and there are never sufficient human and financial resources available to ensure complete accuracy. In the words of Johnson himself, "Dictionaries are like watches, the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true."
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
. Such problems, because they undercut the intention of providing authoritative guidance to readers and writers, attract special attention.
An early English-language example was the definition of pastern as "the knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
of a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
" in Dr. Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
's famed 18th-century Dictionary of the English Language. That would suit the word fetlock, but the pastern is in fact a long portion of the leg immediately below the fetlock. When a woman asked him why he had made the error, Johnson, according to Boswell
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....
, replied, "Ignorance, Madam, pure ignorance."
In the 1930s, Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition
Webster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary refers to the line of dictionaries first developed by Noah Webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added Webster's name just to share his prestige. The term is a genericized trademark in the U.S.A...
accidentally documented, for four years, a supposed word "dord
Dord
Dord is a notable error in lexicography, an accidental creation, or ghost word, of the G. and C. Merriam Company's staff included in the second edition of its New International Dictionary, in which the term is defined as "density"....
", whose only basis was a clerical error by the publisher.
The first edition (1987) of the Collins COBUILD
COBUILD
COBUILD, an acronym for Collins Birmingham University International Language Database, is a British research facility set up at the University of Birmingham in 1980 and funded by Collins publishers.The facility was led by Professor John Sinclair...
English Language Dictionary contained an entry for a verb hink, which it said was conjugated hinks, hinking, hinked and which it defined as follows: "If you hink, you think hopefully and unrealistically about something." The entry is a ghost word
Ghost word
A ghost word is a meaningless word that came into existence or acceptance, not by being derived through long-standing usage, nor by being coined at need, but only as the result of an error. In the best-known examples such an error will have caused the word to be published in a dictionary or...
—included by the editors to trap plagiarists. The wording is the result of an in-house joke. However, some reviewers took it seriously, speculating for example that it is "clearly an error for 'think'." The word was removed from later editions.
In the early 21st century, the online and CD-ROM editions of the Macmillan English Dictionary gave two different spoken readings of the headword for the entry "George, St. – the PATRON SAINT of England": the American reading was the correct "Saint George," but the British reading was "George Street." Presumably the British narrator had been given a list of words to read and the comma after "George" was either missing or overlooked.
Although dictionaries are often expected to be flawless, most lexicographers and people who frequently use dictionaries are keenly aware that all dictionaries contain errors. The preparation of dictionaries requires immense time, expertise and concentration, and there are never sufficient human and financial resources available to ensure complete accuracy. In the words of Johnson himself, "Dictionaries are like watches, the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true."