The Second Barnhart Dictionary of New English [antikvár]

PREFACE This dictionary is a continuation of the first Barnhart Dictionary of New English issued in 1973. It is the outgrowth of files so burgeoning with new words and new meanings and new applications of old words to fit new situations that we are pubhshing this material three years ahead of our scheduled time for a second book. English is in nearly universal use; it is also growing and changing rapidly so that users of EngHsh throughout the world need a dictionary that contains the important new words and meanings. Unabridged dictionaries are issued infrequently and standard desk dictionaries have scant space for new entries and almost none at all for citations showing the new words in use, or for discussions relating the new words to the standard vocabulary. Therefore it is not surprising that the first Dictionary of New English (1973) and the second Dictionary of New English (1980) contain more than 10,000 words and meanings not entered or inadequately explained in standard dictionaries. Together or separately these two books supplement the current dictionaries of the English language. In making the second Dictionary of New English, we have largely followed the principles and the editorial practices of the first dictionary by 1) giving enough context in the citations to indicate the environment in which a word is used, 2) providing ample identification of sources and their dates to show the type of writing, 3) marking the level or area of usage in usage labels, 4) writing usage notes to give editorial judgment, 5) pronouncing difficult words in an IPA-based key, and 6) providing etymologies wherever appropriate. Following our usual practice, we asked a committee of distinguished scholars to review our editorial principles. As a result of conferring with members of this committee, we have greatly expanded the number of usage notes and also included a new type of usage note, such as those under abortion and developing, which lists and correlates terms connecting them with the new practices of our changing world. Such long notes of usage are particularly helpful in explaining new words. In addition, we have introduced a series of articles, such as those xindei Acronyms and Back Formations, which discuss processes of word formation with numerous examples drawn from entries in this dictionary. Another innovation strongly urged on the editors by the Advisory Committee is to supply the year of our earliest available evidence for use of a word or meaning. This date in brackets, usually in an etymology, should provide a fair approximation of the time when a word or meaning achieved widespread use in the language. This dictionary is the result of the cooperation of the Editorial Advisory Committee, our editorial staff, the outside readers of the manuscript, and the research staff that reads for new words year by year. The group has worked to produce a dictionary that provides information not easily available elsewhere and has participated in developing innovations in dictionary-making.