The dictionary isn’t forever. Here’s the lowdown on why certain words are not in the dictionary and how they got removed. If you, too, have been left puzzled by words not in the dictionary—even ones ...

On February 1, 1884, the first fascicle, or volume, of one of the world’s greatest literary achievements was published: the Oxford English Dictionary, affectionately known as the OED. I’m not talking ...

The Oxford English Dictionary estimates there are over 170,000 words in the English language, with an additional 47,000 obsolete words. Only a few other languages reportedly have more words than the ...

Jan Baptist Weenix, “Ancient Ruins” (n.d.), oil on canvas, 80.5 x 68.3 cm, Szépmûvészeti Múzeum, Budapest (image via Web Gallery of Art) This week, NATO was obsolete until it wasn’t. Either war is ...

You can’t call someone a frutescent snollygoster anymore—at least not officially. Those words have been deleted from the dictionary, so you’ll have to come up with alternate terms to describe a ...