Temporal Labels and Specifications in Monolingual English Dictionaries

Abstract

The article examines the temporal labels and other specifications of time affixed to twenty-five words in monolingual dictionaries of English. The selection of works studied includes learners’, collegiate, and general-purpose dictionaries, both British and American. In addition, the treatment of the lexemes in the Oxford English Dictionary is noted. The analysis reveals some clear differences between the different types of dictionaries in the overall propensity to furnish temporal labels and other specifications of time. The terminology employed to convey such information varies from one group of dictionaries to another. There is also plenty of variation between the individual volumes inside each group. The target audience of the works examined varies, which explains some of the differences in the treatment of particular lexemes. In general, Osselton’s calls for more consistent terminology in the labelling of old words, presented several decades ago, are still valid. The differences between the labels are not always clear, and the explanations in the front matter of the dictionary may be lacking or unhelpful.