Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Help

Quick cry for help - does anyone have access to the Oxford English Dictionary 2005 or 2006 edition, if so, could you please tell me what its definition of 'blog' is?

Many thanks!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy to oblige! According to the online OED (which I think is the new edition), the verb 'To blog' is defined as follows:

'intr. To write or maintain a weblog. Also: to read or browse through weblogs, esp. habitually'. First usage: '1999 TBTF for 1999-08-30: Aibo Rampant in cistron.lists (Usenet newsgroup) 30 Aug., Blog..to run a Web log.' Also '2000 Whole Earth Winter 54/1 To blog is to be part of a community of smart, tech-savvy people who want to be on the forefront of a new literary undertaking'.

Blog (noun) takes you back to 'Weblog', which is defined as follows:

'1. A file storing a detailed record of requests handled (and sometimes also errors generated) by a web server'. This is first used 1993: 'comp.infosystems.www (Usenet newsgroup) 4 Nov. (title of posting) Announcing getsites 1.5, a Web log analyzer'.

Alternatively, '2. A frequently updated web site consisting of personal observations, excerpts from other sources, etc., typically run by a single person, and usually with hyperlinks to other sites; an online journal or diary'. This one is first used '1997 J. BARGER Lively New Webpage in alt.culture.www (Usenet newsgroup) 23 Dec., I decided to start my own webpage logging the best stuff I find as I surf, on a daily basis:..www.mcs.net/~jorn/html/weblog.html.'.

Oh dear - this is what a PhD in a literary subject will do to your brain... (hanging head in shame at evident OED-based obsession)

frangelita said...

I have a copy of the real thing at home which I can look at at lunchtime if that helps.

Moominmama said...

the online OED is the most up-to-date. you can cite it in an academic paper just as you would the tree-ware version.

patroclus said...

Oo, brilliant - thanks all! Dissertation is now at 14,500 words and nearing completion, hurrah!

Anonymous said...

Hooray! Good luck with the home stretch - you can do it. Fix your mind on the cocktail at the end of the tunnel. :)

FirstNations said...

a marshy, yet flammable place usually filled with brine cured danes.

not even close, huh.

Moominmama said...

FN: fantastic.

Billy said...

*applause for FN*

I doubt my dictionary has blog in it, I'll just check...






...that'll be a no, then.