Author Bran

The Chambers Dictionary, Revised 13th Edition

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General Details

Title: The Centruy Dictionary, Revised 13th Edition
Volumes: 1
Language: English
Publisher: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd
Year: 2016
Pages: 1860 + 32

The Chambers Dictionary features a quote on the front of its dust jacket wherein Melvyn Bragg brags that "Chambers stands out like a baroque mansion in a city of faceless concrete." It's a weighty hardcover, with a shiny red ribbon bookmark that matches its shiny jacket. The paper is thin, to the point where there is some ghosting of the pages underneath (Western dictionary companies would do well to pay attention to their Japanese counterparts in terms of paper), but bright and readable, with the text printed in double columns in an easy-on-the-eyes typeface. The dictionary traces its roots back to 1872, and this current edition contains "over 620,000 words, phrases and meanings," according to the back text. It's based in Scotland, and so contains a large number of Scottishisms, as well as words from the various varieties of English from around the world.

The definitions are very clear and easy to understand. Similar to Johnson's Dictionary and the Shin Meikai, it is known for having a smattering of quirky and humorous definitions sprinkled about. An éclair, for example, is "a cake, long in shape but short in duration, with cream filling and usu chocolate icing." A mullet is "a hairstyle that is short at the front, long at the back, and ridiculous all round." A jaywalker is "a careless pedestrian whom motorists are expected to avoid running down."

"A short history of English," written by Professor Jeremy J. Smith, begins the dictionary, and this is followed by a section of the "Varieties of English" around the world and the general differences between them and standard British English. These are followed by a section on how to use the dictionary, a section on the rules of (British) spelling, a section on how to pronounce the various foreign words that appear in entry etymologies, a section on how to pronounce the entries based on the symbols used, and a list of the italicized abbreviations used in the entires.

Each alphabetic section of the main dictionary begins with a display of the alphabet in a typeface that begins with that letter. For example, "A" begins with a copy of the alphabet printed in "Arial" and notes that the typeface was designed by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders in the UK in 1982. Don't worry font-snobs (weep, dear Undertale stans) — comic sans and papyrus do not make appearances.

Following "Z", there is a section that lists "Some first names" and their origins and meanings, a section containing common "Phrases and quotations from foreign languages," a section on foreign alphabets and their typical English transliterations, and guides to Roman numerals, the chemical elements, standard units of measurement, scales, wedding anniversairies, mathematical symbols, and planets. All of this is followed by a separetely-paginated section called "The Word Lover's Ramble," by Trevor Barnes, who looked through all of the past editions of Chambers and created this wonderful historical look at how the language has changed over the past 140 years. The 32 pages that make up the ramble feature special sections on swear words, technology, trademarks, words that derive from names, etc. It's a delightful read for anyone with the slightest interest in history, lexicography, or slang.

Chambers fits so many entries into a single manageable volume by not itemizing definitions and related words with line breaks and formatted lists. Definitions are listed one after another with diamonds separating different parts of speech and only a semi-colon separating the disparate meanings. Word derivatives are grouped into three categories, each designated by a different shade of square, and anything falling under one of those three categories (■ derivations, □ compounds, ▨ idioms) is then listed in a similar fashion as the definitions, one right after the other without paragraph breaks. Pronunciations are found at the beginning of entries; etymologies at the end. There are no example sentences or thorough usage notes. The entry for lick provides a good overview of these attributes:

lick /lik/ vt to pass the tongue over (eg to moisten or taste); to take into the mouth using the tongue; to lap; to put or make by passing the tongue over; to pass over or play upon in the manner of a tongue; to flicker over or around; to smear; to beat (inf). ◆ vi to go at full speed (inf); to smoke crack (drug sl). ◆ n an act of licking; a quantity licked up, or such (a small amount) as might be imagined to be licked up; a slight smearing or wash; a place where animals lick salt; a blow or flick (esp Scot in pl a thrashing); vigorous speed (inf); a wag (Scot); in jazz or rock music, a short instrumental passage or flourish (inf). [OE liccian; Ger lecken, L lingere, Gr leichein]
■ lick'er n. lick'ing n a thrasing.
□ lick'er-in' n a toothed cylinder that takes in material to a carding engine. lick'penny n (obs) something which licks up, or is a drain upon, one's money. lick'spittle or (rare) lick'-platter n a toady. lick'-trencher n (archaic) a parasite.
▨ a lick and a promise a perfunctory wash. lick into shape to mould into satisfactory form, from the notion that the she-bear gives form to her shapeless youth by licking them. lick one's lips to look forward, or (archaic) to recall, with pleasure. lick one's wounds to retire from a defeat, failure, etc, esp in order to try to recover one's strength, pride, etc. lick someone's boots to toady. lick the dust to be killed or finished off (inf); to be abjectly servile.

To provide a fair comparison between the various reference works on this site, I like to look up the same two words - umbrella and St. Louis. St. Louis is not to be found here; countries can be found in here, but not generally cities. Umbrella is below:

umbrella /um-brel' ə/ n (also (obs) ombrell'a or umbrell'o) a dome-shaped canopy of light fabric mounted on a stick, carried or set up as a protection against rain or sun, that can be collapsed and furled when not in use; anything of similar form, eg a jellyfish disc; a protection; (something, eg an agency, that provides) a general cover or representation; a cover of fighter aircraft for ground forces (milit). ◆ adj broadly embracing or including a number or a variety of things. [Ital ombrella, ombrello from ombra a shade, from L umbra]
■ umbrell'aed or umbrell'a'd adj with an umbrella.
□ umbrell'a-ant n the sauba ant. umbrella bird n any number of birds of the Cotinga genus with umbrella-like crest and a lappet attached to the throat or breast. umbrella fir n a Japanese confier with radiating tufts of needles. umbrella group, organization, etc n a group of representatives of small parties, clubs, etc, which acts for all of them where they have common interests. umbrella pine same as stone pine (see under stone). umbrella plant n an African sedge with umbrella-like clusters of slender leaves, a common houseplant. umbrella stand n a rack or receptacle for closed umbrellas and walking-sticks. umbrella tree n any of various trees or shrubs whose leaves or branches grow in an umbrella-like formation, esp a small N American magnolia.

On Headbands: The Katyusha or Alice Band

Bran

I'm trying to read more, in all of my languages, and my current Japanese book is the novelization of 君の名は。 or Your Name. I came across this word I didn't know towards the end of the book, and then got into a bit of a look-it-up rabbit hole. The sentence in question (underlines added by me):

三葉は自分の頭にくるりと組紐を回す。カチューシャのように縦に巻いて、左耳の上でちょうちょ結びにする。

Mitsuha wraps the plaited cord around her head, so that it resembles an Katyusha [headband, or "Alice Band"] lengthways, and makes a butterfly knot [bow knot] above her left ear.

That's my rough translation of the sentences from 君の名は。(Your Name.) by 新海誠 (Makoto Shinkai), published by 角川つば文庫 (Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko), 2016. p. 202. The bracketed bits are what we would say in English (or, in the case of "Alice Band," what you get looking the word up on jisho.org or in JMdict); the underlined bits literally translate the actual Japanese. I was amused by the imagery of the butterfly knot, but Katyusha, or "kachuusha" as it's pronounced in Japanese, is what really caught my eye. It didn't sound like something that derived from English, as many katakana words are, so I was curious about its meaning and origin. It's the sort of word that can't be found in my smaller Japanese dictionaries like the Shin Meikai; one has to break out the heavyweights (emphasis on heavy) for this sort of word.

Katyusha has a pair of entries in my copy of the 3rd edition of the massive and tiny-fonted 大辞林 (Daijirin) dictionary; the first of these (below) covers the headband.

カチューシャ 2 〔大正時代に松井須磨子が演じた「復活」の女主人公の名から〕髪飾りの一。弧の形で、前方から両耳までの髪をおさえるもの。布をかぶせたものやプラスチック製のものがある。

Katyusha 2 (From the name of the female protagonist played by Sumako Matsui in the Taisho-era "Resurrection") A hair ornament. An arc-shaped object which pins the hair down from the front to both ears. Can be cloth covered or manufactured from plastic.

My copy of the 5th edition of the 広辞苑 (Kōjien) also has two entries, one for the headband and one for the character. Here's the headband one:

カチューシャ (大正初期上演の「復活」で、主人公カチューシャがつけたことから）ヘアーバンドの一種。丸く曲げて弾力性を持たせた細長い金属板・プラスチック板。また、それを布で被ったもの。

Katyusha (From the thing worn by the protagonist Katyusha in the Taisho initial performance of "Ressurection) A type of hairband. A long thin metal plate or plastic plate with elasticity bent in a curve. Also, that object covered in cloth.

A rough drawing of Mitsuha's hair.

And how about that "Alice Band" definition given in JMdict? I think just plain ol' "headband" is what I would commonly call the object described by the Japanese dictionary entries above, but I searched for "Alice Band" and found a definition in the 11th edition of The Chambers Dictionary:

Alice band n a wide hairband of coloured ribbon or other material (as worn by Alice in Tenniel's illustrations to Through the Looking-glass).

Alice sitting in an armchair with her cat, black headband in her hair.

As a final aside, I looked up the published English translation of the above sentences - it's "Mitsuha wraps the cord around her head vertically, like a headband, and ties it into a bow over her left ear."

Kraft Mayonnaise Attempts to "Hack" the Merriam-Webster Word of the Year

Bran

The marketing minds behind Kraft Brand Mayonnaise sent an 8-foot replica of a jar of mayonnaise to the offices of Merriam-Webster. According to their Instagram post, this gift of "the moistest delivery the world has ever seen" was sent as part of a campaign to get the dictionary to declare the adjective "moist" as the next word of the year. The back of the gigantic jar reads:

Dear Dictionary Gatekeepers,

Here is a 2023 pound jar of Kraft Real Mayo aka the Moist Maker, aka the Moistiest.

For years, we've watched "moist" be degraded by the internet... the media deeming it "universally" hated.

We won't let this slander go on any longer! Our mayo is indisputable evidence that moist is a great word, and that every meal is better moist!

Since you've done nothing to redeem its true meaning, we'll keep searching "moist and hack your competition.

With America's help, we'll make Moist your Word of the Year.

Moistly, Kraft Real Mayo

I learned about this through a social media post by my friends at Johnson's Dictionary Online. I think Kraft would be quite satisfied with Johnson's second definition for moist (and they may also enjoy the quote by Blackmore for use in their campaign combatting dry food):

MOIST. adj. [moiste, moite, French.]
1. Wet, not dry; wet, not liquid; wet in a small degree.
Why were the moist in number so outdone,
That to a thousand dry they are but one. Blackmore.
Many who live well in a dry air, fall into all the diseases that depend upon a relaxation in a moist one. Arbuthnot.
Nor yet, when moist Arcturus clouds the sky,
The woods and fields their pleasing toils deny. Pope.
2. Juicy; succulent. Ains.

This explicit sense of yummy juiciness is absent from The Century Dictionary a century later, but the usage notes there do note that, in contrast to synonyms like dank and damp, moist is generally used in positive connotations. There's no feeling of ickiness attached to its use. Unfortunately, The Century Dictionary has not survived, so Kraft can't petition their offices for assistance in throwing off the online squeamishness around moist.

moist (moist), a. and n. [< M.E. moist, moyst < OF. moiste, F. moite, damp, moist, < L. musteus, new, fresh, < mustum, new wine, mustus, new, fresh: see must2.] I. a. 1. New; fresh. [Obsolete or prov. Eng.]

Hire hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,
Ful streyte y-teyd, and shoos ful moyste and newe. Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., l. 457.

2. Damp; slightly wet; suffused with wetness in a moderate degree: as, moist air; a moist hand.

In places drie and hoote we must assigne
Hem mooldes moist, and ther as it is colde. Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 81.

The hills to their [the clouds'] supply
Vapour, and exhalation, dusk and moist,
Sent up amain. Milton, P. L., xi. 741.

Moist chamber, a chamber which enables objects under microscopic examination to remain moist, and be studied without intervention of thin glass. Micrographic Dict. — Moist color. See color. — Moist gangrene. See gangrene, 1. — Moist gum. Same as dextrine. =Syn. 2. Damp, Dank, Moist, Humid. Damp is generally applied where the slight wetness has come from without, and also where it is undesirable or unpleasant: as, a damp cellar, damp sheets, a damp evening. Dank strongly suggests a disagreeable, chilling, or unwholesome moistness. Moist may be a general word, but it is rarely used where the wetness is merely external or where it is unpleasant: as, a moist sponge, a moist hand, moist leather. "If we said the ground was moist, we should probably mean in a favorable condition for vegetation; if we said it was damp, we should probably mean that we ought to be careful about walking upon it." (C. J. Smith, Synonyms Discriminated, p. 293.) Humid is a literary or scientific term for moist, but would be applicable only to that which is so penetrated with moisture that the moisture seems a part of it: as, humid ground, but not a humid sponge or hand.

Combing out her long black hair
Damp from the river. Tennyson, Princess, iv.

My lips were wet, my throat was cold,
My garments all were dank. Coleridge, Ancient Mariner.

Give me your hand; this hand is moist, my lady. Shak., Othello, iii. 4. 36.

Growths of jasmine turn'd
Their humid arms festooning tree to tree. Tennyson, Fair Women.

II. n. Wetness; wet; moisture.

So, too much Moist, which (vnconcoct within)
The Liuer spreads betweixt the flesh and skin,
Puffs vp the Patient, stops the pipes and pores
Of Excrements. Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 2.