In this segment, historian Rick Britton joins Les Sinclair for his segment TODAY IN HISTORY.

On this day, February 1st, in 1884, the first portion of the Oxford English Dictionary (or OED), was published. Considered the most comprehensive dictionary of the English language, the OED is the definitive authority on the meaning, pronunciation, and history of over half a million words. Plans for the dictionary began in 1857 when members of London’s Philological Society decided to produce one that would cover all vocabulary from the Anglo-Saxon period (1150 A.D.) to the present. Conceived of as a four-volume, 6,400-page work that would take 10 years to finish, it actually took over 40 years until the final section was published in April 1928. The full dictionary contained 400,000 words and phrases in 10 volumes.

Unlike most English dictionaries, which only list present-day common meanings, the OED provides a detailed chronological history for every word and phrase, citing quotations from a wide range of sources. The OED is famous for its lengthy cross-references and etymologies. No sooner was the OED finished than editors began updating it. In 1984, Oxford University Press embarked on a five-year, multi-million-dollar project to create an electronic version of the dictionary. The effort required 120 people to type the entries, and 50 proofreaders to check their work. In 1992, a CD-ROM version of the dictionary was released. Today’s print version comprises 20 volumes weighing over 137 pounds.

The local connection: Along with all of his other achievements, Thomas Jefferson was a neologist, a creator of words. He believed the coining of new words made the English language richer. According to the OED, he was the first known user–in writing–of over seventy-five words. Many of them are variations of common words, including authentication, belittle, commerciable, continuable, countervailing, dischargeable, discountable, dutied, inappreciable, patricidal, and unconciliatory. Surprisingly, in 1807 Jefferson gave birth to the word “doll-baby” when he described “the dresses of the annual doll-babies from Paris.” Some of his creations are really obscure–amovability, amphibologism–and four of his words were never used again (except, of course, in reference to his coining them: Angloman, enregistry, intercollonation, and plexichronometer.

ALSO: Rick Britton has an upcoming class at the Center (formerly the Senior Center). Called “Albemarle’s Early Days,” it commences Tuesday, March 12, and features top historians talking about the history of Albemarle County up to the Revolutionary War. To sign up, call the Center Travel Office at (434) 974-6538, or go to www.thecentercville.org and press “Travel,” then “Lectures.”