Esquivalience

Esquivalience

"Esquivalience", according to the August 29, 2005 "New Yorker" article "Ink: Not a Word" by Henry Alford, is a fictitious entry in the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD), which was designed and included to protect copyright of the publication. The word was invented by Christine Lindberg, one of the editors of the NOAD. [http://www.nbierma.com/language/column/file/050921.htm] It was leaked that the dictionary had put in a fake word in the letter "e" and Alford set out to find the word. It was discovered after review of a short list by several experts. When the editor, Erin McKean, was contacted she admitted that it was indeed a fake word and had been in since the first edition, in order to protect the copyright of the CD-ROM edition.

The word is defined as "the willful avoidance of one's official responsibilities."

The fake entry apparently ensnared dictionary.com, which included an entry for it (that has since been removed) that was attributed to Webster's New Millennium Dictionary, both of which are owned by the private company, Lexico.

ee also

*Trap street

External links

* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/08/29/050829ta_talk_alford New Yorker article]
* [http://www.nbierma.com/language/column/file/050921.htm Chicago Tribune article]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • esquivalience — 1. The intentional abandonment of one s official duties 2. An unwillingness to perform the job one has been assigned 3. The irresponsible addition of fake words into dictionaries, as was originally done with this word …   Grandiloquent dictionary

  • esquivalience — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Dord — This article is about a lexicographic error. For the Irish musical instrument, see Dord (musical instrument). An excerpt from Webster s showing the non existent word dord Dord is a notable error in lexicography, an accidental creation, or ghost… …   Wikipedia

  • Fictitious entry — Fictitious entries, also known as fake entries, Mountweazels, ghost word[1] and nihil articles, are deliberately incorrect entries or articles in reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and directories. Entries in reference… …   Wikipedia

  • Trap street — A trap street is a fictitious entry in the form of a misrepresented street on a map, often outside the area the map nominally covers, for the purpose of trapping potential copyright violators of the map, who will be unable to justify the… …   Wikipedia

  • Intellectual property infringement — An intellectual property infringement is the infringement or violation of an intellectual property right. There are several types of intellectual property rights, such as copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Therefore, an intellectual property… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”