OXFORD, England — To compile a dictionary of nearly every word in the English language was an endeavor typical of Victorian times, complete with white-bearded gentlemen, utter confidence and an endearingly plodding pace. After a quarter-century, the first installment emerged in 1884. Its contents? “A to Ant.”
In our own impatient age, the Oxford English Dictionary is touch-typing toward a third edition, with 619,000 words defined so far, online updates every three months and a perma-gush of digital data to sort through. Graybeards are scarce today at its open-plan office, just earnest editors frowning at flat screens, occasionally whispering to their neighbors. For all the words here, few are spoken aloud.
This hush aside, change is afoot at the O.E.D. For the first time in 20 years, the venerable dictionary has a new chief editor, Michael Proffitt, who assumes the responsibility of retaining the vaunted traditions while ensuring relevance in an era of Googled definitions and text talk.
In his first interview since assuming the position in November, Mr. Proffitt — a neat 48-year-old in suit and tie who has defined, researched and managed for the O.E.D. since 1989 — was respectful of the old ways but equally ready to reconsider the dictionary, characterizing it less as the heavy volumes of yore than as a trove of invaluable data.
“My idea about dictionaries is that, in a way, their time has come,” he said. “People need filters much more than they did in the past.”
“As much as I adhere to the O.E.D.’s public reputation,” he said, “I want proof that it is of value to people in terms of practical use.”
Mr. Proffitt advocates links in digitized literature to O.E.D. entries; he wants more use by students, whose distinction between “dictionary” and “web search” is increasingly blurred; he is also willing to license O.E.D. data to other companies.
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