biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1906– )
|
| biography:
| Linguist and lexicographer, born in Winnebago, Minnesota, USA. A Rhodes scholar at Oxford (1928–31), he taught at the University of Missouri (1926–8, 1931–2) and at the University of Chicago (1932), then joined (1934) the staff of the Dictionary of American English on Historical Principles. His four-year stint on this work, modelled on the Oxford English Dictionary, gave him an insider's view of historical lexicography and profoundly influenced his approach to the subject, which he never looked at as purely an academic exercise but as a human endeavour. Most of his professional life was spent on the faculty of Columbia University (1945–74). After retiring, he continued to be an active voice in lexicography, on the study of names (onomastics), and on the history and usage of American English, notably his early discussion of taboo words and his definitive analysis on the origin of ‘OK’. During his long career he served as president of virtually every professional association in his field. |
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