"Fair Use" Not in OED

[Dennis R. Preston]

Careful Ron,

I think I wore square brackers as a child. (Maybe they were called
something else.)

dInIs

>In a message dated 2/15/06 2:09:19 PM, JMB at STRADLEY.COM writes:
>
>
>>          4.      Not a point, but a question for our lexicographers:  In
>>  a case like this, how far back should the history of a term be traced?
>>  Should we think of "fair use" as going back to 1821, or only to 1869?
>>  Is the answer different for a dictionary like the OED, which gives
>>  quotes, than for a dictionary like M-W, which just gives a date?
>>
>
>Some questions have no clear answers. I like what the RDAS does with early
>POSSIBLE cites--they put them in brackets (see, e.g. the entry for
>GAY--though I
>maintain that they should have put the BRINGING UP BABY cite in square
>brackers as well).
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
15C Morrill Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-4736
preston at msu.edu

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org