An excerpt from Webster's showing the non-existent word "dord"

Dord is one of the most famous errors in lexicography, a word accidentally created by the G. and C. Merriam Company's staff and included in the second edition of its New International Dictionary, in which the term is defined as "density". A lexicographic error is an inaccurate entry in a Dictionary. The pursuit of lexicography is divided into two related disciplines Practical lexicography is the art or Craft of compiling writing and editing dictionaries Merriam-Webster, which was originally the G & C Merriam Company of Springfield Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books Webster's Dictionary is the name given to a common type of English language dictionary in the United States.

Philip Babcock Gove, an editor at Merriam-Webster who became editor-in-chief of Webster's Third New International Dictionary, explained why "dord" was included in the dictionary in a letter to the journal American Speech, fifteen years after the error was caught. Philip Babcock Gove (1902-1972 was an American Lexicographer who was editor-in-chief of the controversial Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, which was originally the G & C Merriam Company of Springfield Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books Webster's Dictionary is the name given to a common type of English language dictionary in the United States.

On July 31, 1931, Austin M. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Patterson, Webster's chemistry editor, sent in a slip reading "D or d, cont. Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties /density. " This was intended to add "density" to the existing list of words that the letter "D" can abbreviate. The density of a material is defined as its Mass per unit Volume: \rho = \frac{m}{V} Different materials usually have different The slip somehow went astray, and the phrase "D or d" was misinterpreted as a single, run-together word: dord. (This was a plausible mistake because headwords on slips were typed with spaces between the letters, making "D or d" look very much like "D o r d". ) A new slip was prepared for the printer and a part of speech assigned along with a pronunciation. The word got past proofreaders and appeared on page 771 of the dictionary around 1934.

On February 28, 1939, an editor noticed "dord" lacked an etymology and investigated. Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Soon an order was sent to the printer marked "plate change/imperative/urgent". The word "dord" was excised and the definition of the adjacent entry "Dore furnace" was expanded from "A furnace for refining dore bullion" to "a furnace in which dore bullion is refined" to close up the space. Doré bullion is unrefined Silver that contains a variable but usually appreciable percentage of Gold. Gove wrote that this was "probably too bad, for why shouldn't dord mean 'density'?"

References

• Philip Babcock Gove. Philip Babcock Gove (1902-1972 was an American Lexicographer who was editor-in-chief of the controversial Webster's Third New International Dictionary, "The History of 'Dord'". American Speech. Volume 29 (1954). Pages 136-138.

See also

• Fictitious entry
• Esquivalience

External links

• "Dord" at Snopes.com
• "Dord" at fun-with-words.com; quotes Gove article