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Oh, Aitch, how could you doubt my vocabulary?! I have the Canadian Oxford Dictionary beside my bed. Which is both a badge of honour and total nerdiness, but I have that thing about language. You know, I dig it. And I have a girl crush on Katherine Barber, because she gets to edit (in chief) the Canadian dictionary. Wikipedia calls her a lexicographer. That sounds so exotic. Or is it just me?
Well, to be sure I wanted to actually check the COD, but it had to wait until I returned to Ottawa. And indeed, incentivize (or incentivise if you prefer the British spelling) is a word. You can find it on page 713 of the 2001 edition.
Why would I need to make up words when there are so many good ones we so rarely use?
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4 comments:
It's so true. And so many words that I grew up with which may or may not be actual words. Silly Brits.
As long as we're word nerds (have you listened to that linguistics show on CBC weekend radio?) here's a lovely word for you: synallagmatic (straight from the pages of Hong Kong Fir Shipping v. Kawasaki).
Synallagmatic provides the same kind of satisfaction when you discover its meaning as words like pscitticine, absquatulate, or acyrology. Next thing you know you're using them promiscuously: "Why did that pscitticine absquatulate like that? Must have been my acyrology. And here I thought our relationship was synallagmatic."
Ludwik Fleck
My Dear Fleck, I have only two words for you: Show off!
Fleck and Optimist.... This can only mean one thing: we are destined to play Balderdash and drink scotch together. I ,too, love my words (and made sure that the full two-volume set of the OED, plus magnifying glass, goes to me in my parents' will - there's your legal tie-in!).
P.S. It's not as fancy but my favourite word is defenestrate.
P.P.S. I *also* love Katherine Barber.
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