Online dictionaries of English slang
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Julie Coleman
Abstract
This paper presents a range of online dictionaries of English slang, and considers their search facilities, coverage and reliability, as well as practical factors involved in setting up and maintaining these resources. A selection of slang terms from Britain and the United States is used to explore gaps and trends in the dictionaries’ contents. The paper concludes by arguing that the best user-edited dictionaries have high editorial aspirations, and that even the worst can make a useful contribution to our knowledge of contemporary slang, which changes so quickly that a paper dictionary cannot possibly keep pace. Urban Dictionary undoubtedly has the most extensive coverage, but other sites challenge it in a number of respects.
Abstract
This paper presents a range of online dictionaries of English slang, and considers their search facilities, coverage and reliability, as well as practical factors involved in setting up and maintaining these resources. A selection of slang terms from Britain and the United States is used to explore gaps and trends in the dictionaries’ contents. The paper concludes by arguing that the best user-edited dictionaries have high editorial aspirations, and that even the worst can make a useful contribution to our knowledge of contemporary slang, which changes so quickly that a paper dictionary cannot possibly keep pace. Urban Dictionary undoubtedly has the most extensive coverage, but other sites challenge it in a number of respects.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Tabula gratulatoria vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction xiii
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Part I. History of dictionaries
- The Flores of Ouide (1513) 3
- “Halles Lanfranke” and its most excellent and learned expositive table 17
- John Lane’s Verball 41
- The linking of lemma to gloss in Elyot’s Dictionary (1538) 55
- Music amidst the tumult 79
- Chaos and old night 91
- Online dictionaries of English slang 109
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Part II. Word history and cultural history
- Old English etymologies in Christfrid Ganander’s Nytt Finskt Lexicon (1787) 131
- The origin of the word yeoman 153
- Early East India Company merchants and a rare word for sex 169
- From denominal to deverbal 193
- A gente Anglorum appellatur 219
- William Lambarde and Thomas Milles in search of the golden past 233
- Contempt 249
- A lexical skirmish 269
- Index of subjects 287
- Index of personal names 291
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Tabula gratulatoria vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction xiii
-
Part I. History of dictionaries
- The Flores of Ouide (1513) 3
- “Halles Lanfranke” and its most excellent and learned expositive table 17
- John Lane’s Verball 41
- The linking of lemma to gloss in Elyot’s Dictionary (1538) 55
- Music amidst the tumult 79
- Chaos and old night 91
- Online dictionaries of English slang 109
-
Part II. Word history and cultural history
- Old English etymologies in Christfrid Ganander’s Nytt Finskt Lexicon (1787) 131
- The origin of the word yeoman 153
- Early East India Company merchants and a rare word for sex 169
- From denominal to deverbal 193
- A gente Anglorum appellatur 219
- William Lambarde and Thomas Milles in search of the golden past 233
- Contempt 249
- A lexical skirmish 269
- Index of subjects 287
- Index of personal names 291
