Obesity

BBC NEWS | Health | Obesity - what's in a word?: "'Obesity' has become the new 'cancer'. A word that is taboo, that intimidates, that strikes fear, that promotes softer euphemisms.

In effect it has become an 'O' word.

The gurus of change management often speak of the need for everyone to recognise a state of crisis in order to take action.

They use the metaphor of a burning platform.

Perhaps the word 'obesity' is itself that burning platform."

OED December 2008 news

December 2008 new words - Quarterly updates - Oxford English Dictionary:

"Rashomon n.

An indication of the wealth and variety of influences which are at work on the English language, as Japanese cinema gives us this word, which alludes to the method of storytelling used in Akira Kurosawa's 1951 film of this name, and is used attributively to denote things involving multiple conflicting or differing perspectives. The underlying simile is first invoked in English in the adjective Rashomon-like, which dates back to 1962, and is also included in this release of new and revised OED text."

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the publication of the last fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1928, we are offering a special price for the printed edition of the OED. The magnificent 20-volume printed set is now available at the special offer price of just £450 until 31 January 2009, or for US customers $895.

Latest additions to the OED On 11 December, the revised range ran to reamy was added to the Dictionary: see John Simpson's commentary on the most interesting features of this batch. We have also added new words in the range and from across the alphabet; Graeme Diamond picks some out in his notes on the latest new words.

Special recordings You can read/listen to an interview with Ammon Shea, author of Reading the OED, and Jesse Sheidlower, Editor at Large for the OED. Read also about the first editor, Sir James Murray, and one of the most famous contributors, Dr Minor, in the Oxford DNB; or listen to the lives of Murray and Minor in the Oxford DNB's free biography podcast.

The OED newsletter

News of research and developments on the Oxford English Dictionary was formerly available in periodic printed newsletters. These brought together articles by editors and others on their work for the Dictionary, appeals for help with finding evidence of words currently being revised or drafted (see the latest appeals list), and reports of the editors' recent findings about the language in all its entertaining variety.

We have replaced these newsletters with quarterly commentaries on the latest published batches and new words, but copies of the newsletters can still be read here on OED Online in our Newsletter archive.