Righteous

The word I have chosen is righteous. I heard somone say it today when they were referring to something being completely incredible, so it made me wonder about the different ways you can use the word righteous. I have never thought about using the word righteous in my normal, everyday vocabulary so I decided to look it up. Occording to Oxford English dictionary, the word righteous means, "1. a. Of persons: Just, upright, virtuous; guiltless, sinless; conforming to the standard of the divine or the moral law; acting rightly or justly. 2. Of actions, etc.: Characterized by justice or uprightness; morally right or justifiable. Chiefly Sc. Rightful, lawful, legitimate. Right, genuine; correct, exact. Obs. rare." In comparison, the Urban Dictionary states righteous as, " Containing the best possible attributable qualities. A state of extreme perfection bordering on divinity that bestows moral authority upon the subject. Amazingly amazing." The Oxford English dictionary is a professional useful source of dependable meanings to words. The author worked for many, many years with a team trying to perfect every word and and include a variety of words spoken in the english language. The Urban Dictionary, on the other hand, is not a dependable source of vocabulary knowledge. The Urban Dictionary has been known for being more "crude" and also anyone can log on and edit the meaning, make it their very own. Taking into account all of the facts, I believe the Oxford English Dictionary is the more dependable source and it would definately be the one I would always turn to for answers. The Oxford English dictionary is more prescriptive while the Urban dictionary is descriptive. The prescriptive category would be the more accurate and dependable one if you are looking for a more professional meaning. There are different meanings to different people though. To the surfer, righteous might be used to refer to a totally wicked wave he just dominated but to a religious person, it might be a comparison to someone's actions. The difference between the two is that we have taken words and put a modern, slang twist to them and made them into meaning something new and different, along with the old meaning. Personally, when trying to be professional, I will always use the Oxford English Dictionary definitions and will hardly use the Urban Dictionary definitions. If I want to use a definition along those lines, then I will just make it up myself from the slang I use!

Cougar

Cougar… Rrrrrrrr! This word may bring one of two images to your mind. Typically, the first thing that most people would instantly associate with cougar is the image of a courageous feline. In contrast, some people might correlate cougar with an aggressive, slightly older lady. (This definition will get more detailed as you read later.) Depending on which image came to mind, you are indiscreetly revealing your age or the generation you grew up during. Oxford English Dictionary Online defines cougar as “a large feline quadruped, found in most parts of America; also called puma, red tiger, American lion etc.” More enticing, one of my favorite definitions of many from the Urban Dictionary defines cougar as: (see also hunt, prowl, corner, pounce). Noun. A 35+ year old female who is on the "hunt" for a much younger, energetic, willing-to-do-anything male. The cougar can frequently be seen in a padded bra, cleavage exposed, propped up against a swanky bar in San Francisco (or other cities) waiting, watching, calculating; gearing up to sink her claws into an innocent young and strapping buck who happens to cross her path. "Man is cougar's number one prey.” There is obviously great distinction in these diverse definitions. One refers to and animal and the other is in reference to an older female. Such contradiction derives from the sources of authority behind each of these established definitions. Authority in the Oxford English Dictionary Online is prescriptive because their definitions are established by educated and qualified individuals to give a standard meaning to the word. It is typically used as a standard dictionary for a scholar. The Urban Dictionary is a descriptive authority because it is how we speak, the plain fact, and not a standard. This dictionary would be good for trying to define newer terms or slang words that have recently developed. Such a divergence in one definition is due to how the word’s use has changed over time. Younger generations would more likely associate with the second image of the word cougar because it is becoming increasingly popular to use the slang “cougar” to describe these older ladies. Although I am bias of the Urban Dictionary definition of “cougar”, I still believe that an Oxford English Dictionary definition would be more accurate because it is the typical definition of cougar. It is a dependable source. Urban Dictionary is an unreliable and inaccurate source for many words because it does not have a standard for who can establish the definition of a word. Therefore allowing anyone to have the capability to change a word based on what they think it is will vary drastically and be inconsistent among numerous amounts of people. This is why there were pages of definitions of “cougar” although many of them were similar everyone seemed to have their own different way of defining this word. A definition should be consistent and accurate.

english blog 5

If you were to ask my granddad what the meaning of “bitch” was, he would respond by saying, “A female dog” and look at me with a puzzled expression as to why I asked him such a simple question. On the other hand if you were to ask one of my friends the same question the first ideas that would spring to their minds would include a person with a bad attitude or someone that always does what others say; even if it degrades them. This shows that as time progresses peoples understanding of certain words changes as they are subjected to different environments.

The Oxford English Dictionary describes the term as being “The female of a dog” and “The term applied opprobriously to a woman; strictly, a lewd or sensual woman. Not now in decent use; but formerly common in literature. In modern use a malicious or treacherous woman; of things: something outstandingly difficult or unpleasant”. The Urban Dictionary contains similar meanings as well as some which are more painful to the ear. For example one entry describes bitch as “A woman that doesn't give a flying f*ck anymore and that can and will be cruel to men”. Another strong example is “An exceedingly whipped guy who does/wears/thinks/says whatever his girlfriend tells him what to do”.

The Oxford English Dictionary derives its authority prescriptively as it includes the mechanisms for establishing and maintaining an interregional language or a standardized spelling system. It also includes declarations of what particular groups consider to be good taste. The addition of new words to the dictionary can be a long process as each definition is painstakingly revised. This time consists of the contributions of several different people, and the work may in fact be spread out over a period of months, during which the entry is drafted, sent out for specialist consultation, and then returned for final editing.
The Urban Dictionary however derives its authority descriptively as it observes and records how language is used in practice. It also eschews value judgments and makes no recommendations unlike prescription. It is very much like Wikipedia as it allows anyone to add their own meanings to the website which as already shown, can result in graphic descriptions being added.

In conclusion I believe that it would be unfair to say either dictionary is better then the other. This is based on the fact that although the Oxford English Dictionary’s definitions are more ‘Standard English’ and politically correct than the Urban Dictionary, the latter’s definitions simply can’t be frowned upon. They may have some degree of graphicness in some of their definitions, but this only highlights the diversity of our language and how it is actually used in today’s world.

Gone

Many words are used in different ways depending on how it is said in a conversation. When a person leaves a room to go somewhere else, the people in the room may say that the person is gone after they left. A different way “gone” may be used is if there is an extremely drunk person to the stage that they do not know what the difference between right and wrong is, the person may be considered “gone”. If a person died, to make it not sound so bad, someone might say, “She has gone to a better place.”
As a person hears the phrase “going once, going twice, gone!” at an auction, it is meaning that the option of purchasing the object for a higher price is going away quickly. A phrase a person may hear the night after a college party is, “that guy at the party last night was completely gone.” Gone in this sense is being completely drunk or high.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines gone as someone who has passed on or who is dead, not here anymore, or unavailable. The Urban Dictionary defines gone as something that is not here anymore, someone who is dead, and is also a word describing a person who is extremely drunk or extremely high. These two different sources which give similar but different definitions are both correct.
They are each correct depending on the text which a person chooses to use this word in. The authorities of the Oxford English Dictionary are scholars which choose to put this word into the dictionary. The authorities of the Urban Dictionary are just random people who have different meanings and different ways they can use the word “gone”.
The Urban Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary are both considered a prescriptive authority because they are telling the reader how the word is used.

What a Cock

To most scholars and people over the age of 25, the word “cock” conjures the image of a rooster. To most college kids, the same “cock” elicits a giggle and the image of the male reproductive organ. According to the Oxford English Dictionary and the Urban Dictionary, both definitions, penis and rooster, are correct. Each dictionary also has several other definitions. Most of the definitions in the Urban Dictionary are related to the male reproductive organ and those definitions are very graphic. The definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary are much more diverse. Some examples of the definition of “cock” from the Oxford English Dictionary are: a night watchman, a leader or chief, something that stops the flow of liquid, a part of the mechanism for discharging a firearm, to fight, and to bend up or stick up at an angle. While neither dictionary contains definitions that are wrong, the dictionary that is most accurate, in terms of quality and depth of information, is the Oxford English Dictionary because it has actually been reviewed and worked on by educated people. The reason I feel that the Urban Dictionary is less dependable is that the definitions have been submitted by many people and most of the definitions are repeated with just some words different therefore when you read it, you can get caught up in reading the same thing over and over again. The authority for the Oxford English dictionary is a Chief Editor, which means that it is a prescriptive authority because it is written and reviewed. The authority for the Urban Dictionary is anyone who gets on the website and decides to give a definition for a word. Since there seems to be no editor, I would say that the Urban Dictionary is a descriptive authority because it does not really give any importance to the use of the words in written form.

Sick

The word "sick" has been known for centuries to label someone that is physically ill. The Urban Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary both recognize this word, sick, as a term for describing someone who is not healthy at the time, but the Urban Dictionary has an additional definition or meaning for the word. The history of "sick" can be traced back to the early 1000's. The same meaning has surprisingly stuck for a whole millennium. That record is becoming unheard of for a word to maintain its original meaning for that amount of time. The chain of time has been broken, though.

There is now two additional to the original use of "sick". The common and older version was defined as a person who was suffering from illness. The slang is used to describe something that impresses you or is new, crazy, or daring. Also, it could be describing something bad, as in a prank that was overly rude or crude. This may be identified by a phrase such as, "That joke about her was completely sick." This word could also replace the word cool when referring to an act or material that attracts attention in a good way. An example of this may be, "That trick on his dirt bike was sick." This may be said after a group of people witnessed a new stunt.

The Urban Dictionary is the more modern reference between the two, the other being the Oxford English Dictionary. The Urban Dictionary has the ability to be updated by anyone, as a result it has the most recently updated information. Also, more crude slangs are offered on the Urban Dictionary than the OED, which allows for words to have more interpretations. The usefulness of both sources are limited according to what word is being searched and for what type of definition is being desired. They are both great sources; however, the Urban Dictionary is more geared toward slang and the OED is focused on serious definitions.

Dope

The first term that comes to my mind when thinking of something that would have a definition in both the Oxford English Dictionary and Urban Dictionary is the word “dope.”  In recent times, dope has become a popular word to use to describe the drug heroin, or for those who don’t know what they’re talking about, to reference marijuana.  The authorities of the definition for each dictionary change, as do the definitions.

In the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition for dope is 1. a. Any thick liquid or semi-fluid used as an article of food, or as a lubricant. U.S.  This is a prescriptive definition, being that the authorities from the OED lay out rules for their definitions, based on what they think is “right and wrong.”  This is a very classic definition for the word dope, and can be referenced as far back as 1876.  The authorities of this definition have many degrees in English and devote their lives to deciding definitions of words.

On Urban Dictionary, the definition of the word dope is a little bit different.  My favorite definition for the slang is “heroin, not crack, not powder, but heroin. not marijuana, not meth. but heroin. heroin is the only thing that dope could ever be. people who don't know what dope is are people with very sheltered lives.”  This shows that Urban Dictionary’s authorities are just about anyone who wants to post a definition.  They’re all very much opinionated, and often quite humorous.  There is no “right or wrong” like in the Oxford English Dictionary, but rather pretty much any definition can be posted.

In my opinion, the Oxford English Dictionary and Urban Dictionary are useful for different words.  If I wanted just a standard definition for a word, I would use the authorities of the Oxford English Dictionary.  However, for any newer phrases or slang words, Urban Dictionary would give me the most diversity and choices for words.  As can be seen, dope when used in modern speech is a better word to look up on Urban Dictionary than in the Oxford English Dictionary.

OED vs. UD

Merry Bridgeman
Comparing Authorities: OED vs. UD
Dr. Hughes

Everyday our society comes up with more and more words. Sometimes these words are stolen from the past and given a new meaning or created to fit something that has just been invented. Most of these new words or meanings can usually be somewhat insulting. Faggot, for example, is a word that has much controversy. This word has the power to be very demeaning and rude. With the word, faggot, one can see how over time society changed a words meaning to something totally different.
The Oxford English Dictionary gives several meaning for the word faggot. Some of these definitions include “A bundle of sticks, twigs, or small branches of trees bound together and the practice of burning heretics alive.” It even includes the slang definition which we are more familiar with, “a (male) homosexual.” People, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, have been using this word to refer to male homosexuals since around 1941. Even though this word has two different meanings, society tends to use the more discriminatory definition in everyday vocabulary. Urban dictionary is a little more contemporary in the fact that anyone can post a new word or a new definition that they themselves created. For this reason I find this website to be less credible then the Oxford English Dictionary. However, Urban Dictionary did contain both definitions for the word faggot.
There are always going to be some new words that magically appear out of nowhere. Words such as google, blog, and email were not even thought about in the 1950s, but they have become common, household names. Urban Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary can both be extremely helpful resources. However, I believe that the Oxford English Dictionary would be more helpful when looking up words for a paper or school projects. This dictionary is what I would consider to be prescriptive due to the fact that authorities do check over the content to make sure it is correct. On Urban Dictionary, anyone is free to write what they feel a word means and after reading some of their definitions you realize not all of them are correct. This is why I believe it to be a descriptive resource. Not to put Urban Dictionary down because I have used it myself and found it to be very informative, but it probably is not the most reliable source of information.

The Mack Daddy...

The word or term "mac daddy" has it's own special place in both the Oxford English Dictionary and the Urban Dictionary. However, both of the dictionaries analyze the word to have the same meaning, but, the authorities, and how they derive their authorities remain quite different. For the Oxford English Dictionary, language specialists decide if the term "mac daddy" can conform to their regulations in order to become endowed with the definition of an actual word or phrase. These authorites, considered to have high rankings in the area of language, are elected an are considered to hold high positions in the dictionary publishing world. In that, lies the opinions of these authorities who see themselves as "over" the language. The term "mac daddy", though it has been formed and used by the slang users of many days in age, is seen as a "true" phrase or word. Therefore, the authorities of the Oxford English Dictionary, recognize this term in their dictionary. Their definition, the most seemingly "correct" explanation of the word, is comprised of " [a] supremely successful, respected, or influential person; spec. a man who is extremely attr
active to or sexually successful with women." Their definition then goes on to say that the term "mac daddy", has been in use since the nineteen sixties. The word shows up in the 1964 publication of the book "Deep Down in Jungle II." The Urban Dictionary depicts the word or phrase "mac daddy" to have the same meaning; but, the term is further described in a more "slang" and lamens terms way. The Urban Dictionary definition consists of "[t]he pimp-meister, the king of the streetwalkers, possessor of the blingest of bling-bling. The mac daddy is the man who means everything (and the only man who really means anything) to his ladies of the night." Therfore, the Urban dictionary appeals to the younger generation of slang users, rather than the proper and more seemingly "politically correct" terms in the Oxford English Dictionary. The Urban Dictionary conforms to the definitions its contributors. These contributors happen to be the people who use the terms, but who are not elected officials or anyone whith a higher ranking language appeal. The definitions of these two dictionaries carry the same word and somewhat the same definitions. However, The Urban Dictionary will appeal more to all readers because of it's almost "humor filled" definitions, contributed by those who know the words the best.

Blog Number 4?? Matthew Peeler

In today's society, there are many words that have a somewhat different meaning than they might have had for years before. As time continues to move forward, certain things that have been a part of society forever start to take on a new meaning. Many times this change will be for the worse as words take on a much more vulgar and explicit meaning compared to its definition throughout history. In my opinion there is not a more perfect example of this than the word "weed".
According to The Oxford English Dictionary a weed is a herbaceous plant not valued for use or beauty, growing wild and rank, and regarded as cumbering the ground or hindering the growth of superior vegetation. This definition is not only the meaning that has been behind this word for years, but it is also the meaning of the word that has pestered so many people when it comes to gardening. Regardless of how annoying this word may be to many, this definition is a far cry to what many people consider the word weed means in today's society.
In contrast to a pesky plant that grows in places where it is not wanted, there is another more modern definition of the word weed. According to Urban Dictionary, the definition of the word weed is God's gift to the world, brings peace when used wisely. Many people, after reading this definition, would ask themselves who would consider a weed as a gift from God? The truth behind this particular meaning of weed however is that "weed" is a word used as a substitute name for the drug marijuana. To many, this may be quite a shock but as the times change, people are becoming more and more familiar with the word weed being associated with the drug opposed to the plants in their gardens that are not so welcome.
As time goes on, things change, including the definitions of words. As I have mentioned here, words do not always change definitions for the good. In my opinion, as sad as it is, the Urban Dictionary definition of the word weed is a more accurate definition simply due to the fact that so many more people today are exposed to this drug. This is purely a sign of the times that we live in today and a perfect example of how a word can change definitions over time.