On this day in 1884, the first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), widely regarded as the most accurate and comprehensive dictionary of the English language, is published. Today, the OED is the definitive authority on the history, meaning, and pronunciation of more than half a million words, past and present. Plans for the dictionary got underway in 1857 when members of London’s Philological Society, who believed there were no error-free, up-to-date English dictionaries available, chose to produce one that would encompass all vocabulary from the Anglo-Saxon period (1150 A.D.) to the present. Conceived of as a four-volume, 6,400-page work, it was estimated the project would take 10 years to complete. But the 125th and final fascicle wasn't published until April 1928. It boasted 400,000 words and phrases in 10 volumes and was published under the title A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. Unlike most English dictionaries, which only list pre...