Dord is one of the most famous errors in lexicography, a word accidentally created by the G. and C. Merriam Company's staff and included in in the sedond edition of its New International Dictionary, in which the term is defined as "density". A lexicographic error is an inaccurate entry in a dictionary. ... Lexicography is either of two things Practical lexicography is the art or craft of writing dictionaries. ... Merriam-Webster, originally known as the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is a United States company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Websters An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). ... 1888 advertisement for Websters Dictionary Websters Dictionary is a common title given to English language dictionaries in the United States, deriving its name from American lexicographer Noah Webster. ...

Philip Babcock Gove, an editor at Merriam-Webster who became editor-in-chief of Webster's Third New International, explained why "dord" was included in the dictionary in a letter to the journal American Speech, fifteen years after the error was caught. Dord This work is copyrighted. ... Philip Babcock Gove (1902-1972) was an American lexicographer who was editor-in-chief of the controversial Websters Third New International Dictionary, published in 1961. ... Merriam-Webster, originally known as the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is a United States company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Websters An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). ...

On July 31, 1931, Austin M. Patterson, Webster's chemistry editor sent in a slip reading "D or d, cont./density." This was intended to add "density" to the existing list of words that the letter "D" can abbreviate. The slip somehow went astray, and the phrase "D or d" was misinterpreted as a single, run-together word: dord. A new slip was prepared for the printer and a part of speech assigned along with a pronunciation. The word slipped past proofreaders and appeared on page 771 of the dictionary around 1935. July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining, as the final day of July. ... 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... -1... Density (symbol: ρ - Greek: rho) is a measure of mass per unit of volume. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

On February 28, 1939, an editor noticed "Dord" lacked an etymology and investigated. Soon an order was sent to the printer marked "plate change/imperative/urgent". The word "Dord" was excised and the definition of the adjacent entry "Dore furnace" was expanded from "A furnace for refining dore bullion" to "a furnace in which dore bullion is refined" to close up the space. Gove wrote it was "probably too bad, for why shouldn't dord mean 'density'?" February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

References

• Philip Babcock Gove. "The History of 'Dord'". American Speech. Volume 29 (1954). Pages 136-138.

Philip Babcock Gove (1902-1972) was an American lexicographer who was editor-in-chief of the controversial Websters Third New International Dictionary, published in 1961. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

External links

• "Dord" at Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/language/mistakes/dord.htm)