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dord

A documented 1934 dictionary error, noticed in 1939 and corrected in print in 1947.

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Word-history steps

The sequence below summarizes the cited forms, dates and evidence. It is not a complete scholarly history.

Word-history stepsSource-backed forms and evidence from the cited entries
  1. The 1934 entrydordThe 1934 Webster's New International Dictionary printed dord as a physics/chemistry term for “density.”
  2. How it aroseD or dThe entry resulted from notation intended as “D or d” being misread in dictionary preparation.
  3. First-hand account1954Philip Babcock Gove, the dictionary's editor, published “The History of ‘Dord’” in American Speech 29(2), 1954, pp. 136–138.
  4. File history1939–1947Allen Walker Read's 1978 study cites file history: the error was noticed in 1939, a plate-change/deletion order was made in 1940, and the correction was not implemented in print until 1947.
  5. How to read itdictionary errorTreat the 1934 entry as a documented dictionary error rather than evidence of a normal lexical first use.

A documented dictionary error

Dord is a documented dictionary error rather than a normal word-origin case. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the 1934 Webster's New International Dictionary printed dord as a physics/chemistry term for “density,” after notation intended as “D or d” was misread in dictionary preparation. Philip Babcock Gove, the dictionary's editor, published the first-hand account “The History of ‘Dord’” in American Speech 29(2), 1954, pp. 136–138. Allen Walker Read's 1978 study cites file history: the error was noticed in 1939, a plate-change/deletion order was made in 1940, and the correction was not implemented in print until 1947.

This page summarizes the cited sources. Follow each source for its full wording, notes and references.

More from the cited entries

Word-specific details from cited sources, with sources named beside each claim.

How the error entered the dictionary

The Online Etymology Dictionary says the 1934 Webster's New International Dictionary printed dord as a physics/chemistry term for “density.”

According to that source, the entry resulted from notation intended as “D or d” being misread in dictionary preparation.

What the editors and later studies report

Philip Babcock Gove, the dictionary's editor, published the first-hand account “The History of ‘Dord’” in American Speech 29(2), 1954, pp. 136–138.

Allen Walker Read's 1978 study cites file history: the error was noticed in 1939, a plate-change/deletion order was made in 1940, and the correction was not implemented in print until 1947.

Keep reading the method

Dord is a documented dictionary error, not a normal word-origin case. The sources do not establish a reliable lexical first-use date, and the 1934 entry should not be read as the first English use. Ghost words: the dictionary entries that never existed

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