The world has changed very much over the past hundred or so years and so has the English language. Many words have gained new meanings that people in the olden days just wouldn’t understand. The word “chronic” is no different. The Oxford English Dictionary defines chronic as “of or relating to time, or lasting a long time, long-continued, lingering, inveterate.” The Urban Dictionary has a little bit of a different definition. The Urban Dictionary defines chronic “as very potent, high grade marijuana, typically categorized by it’s lack of seeds and high concentrations of white or opaque crystals.” Chronic is also known as marijuana that is laced with cocaine for a more intense high that lasts longer. I find it interesting because the Oxford definition defines it as lasting a long time and chronic is the strongest type of weed which gives you a longer lasting high. I guess Snoop Doggy Dog did his research before he started rapping about it. The Oxford English Dictionary derives its authority from the fact that it has been around for such a long time and is one of the largest English dictionaries. The original authorities of the OED were John Simpson, Edmund Weiner and many other college scholars. The Oxford Dictionary is descriptive and the Urban Dictionary is prescriptive. The Oxford Dictionary is much more reliable of a source because college scholars are the ones that compose the definitions. In the Urban Dictionary, anyone who feels like composing a definition is allowed to do it. The Urban Dictionary has many words that the Oxford English Dictionary does not have because many of the words have been recently added to our language, or they have just gained a new meaning. The OED is more accurate than the Urban Dictionary because not just anyone can compose a definition in the OED.