Tracing changes in the meanings of English words.

The OED The Oxford English Dictionary, usually known as the OED, is the best source for tracing changes in the meanings of English words. The OED traces all the definitions of English words through the centuries, attempting to find examples of all the ways they have developed and changed. Knowing the 1850 definition of “sympathy” will make The Scarlet Letter easier to understand, since the word has changed a great deal since Nathaniel Hawthorne used 170 years ago. Reading a text for Eng 231 is hard for lots of reasons, but mainly because our language changes so much. Sometimes we’re challenged by a word we don’t know, but it’s often more confusing to encounter a word we think we know but which has changed meanings. Consider the word “plantation”: Few people know that the U.S. state of Rhode Island has a longer official name. “Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” is the full, legal name of the state, though “Plantations” may soon be omitted, since many Rhode Islanders don’t like the negative associations “plantation” suggests. Rhode Island’s name is very old; it dates back to early in the colonial era, 1643, 133 years before American independence, and 147 years before Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became the 13th state of the union. So, here’s your job: Find the OED on the CPCC (Central Piedmont Community College) library’s website. (Go to databases, click O for Oxford, and click on Oxford English Dictionary. It’s that simple.) If you have trouble, the CPCC librarians are online and eager to help. Look up the word “plantation.”