ABSTRACT
There are two basic methods by which the meanings of words are defined – by common usage and by standardizing committee. Usage is the method that was employed in the compilation of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. The brainchild of a passionate and indefatiguable Scotsman named James Murray who devoted nearly his entire adult life to it, the Oxford English Dictionary was completed in 1928 after an incredible 49 years of research.1
