[Ads-l] antedating of 'oudenology', etc.

[James Eric Lawson]

It seems unlikely that 'nihilology' will meet OED criteria for
inclusion. I can't say I'll be disappointed if it doesn't. The entry for
oudenology should be fixed, though. If I could fix it, I would; which
reminds me: why isn't the OED crowdsourced? Simple inertia?

Not that I'd want an OED on the model of Wikipedia or Urban Dictionary,
but rigorous vetting and professional editing of crowdsourced amateur
material could work well.

On 10/26/22 08:18, Laurence Horn wrote:
> The corresponding Latinate version, “nihilology”, seems better substantiated, including its own website and monograph:
> 
> https://www.nihilology.com <https://www.nihilology.com/>
> https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Nothingness-Toward-Apophatic-Science/dp/177702420X <https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Nothingness-Toward-Apophatic-Science/dp/177702420X>
> 
> 
> LH
> 
> 
> 
>> On Oct 26, 2022, at 4:22 AM, James Eric Lawson <jel at NVENTURE.COM> wrote:
>>
>> Oudenology, noun; OEDO (entry updated 2004; modified 2019) 1838, "The
>> science of nothing, or of things having no real existence." 1838 quote
>> "Apparently an isolated use".
>>
>> In _The London Medical and Surgical Journal_, 25 July 1835, 825/2.
>> Article titled "Nothing of a Leader": "The substantialists may talk how
>> they like, but *oudenology*, so we shall name it, is a very important
>> branch of science--without its aid, some of the most celebrated medical
>> works of the day would collapse into atoms!"
>>
>> https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858046176412&view=1up&seq=833&q1=oudenology
>>
>> Another attestation November 1883, 84/2, in _New England Medical
>> Monthly_: "Benjamin Waterhouse, honorably known for having been the
>> introducer of vaccination into America, was the first professor of the
>> theory and practice of medicine. I remember him well, and carry the scar
>> of the vaccination he performed on me. ...  He had some learning, which
>> he was disposed to make the most of, as perhaps we all are if we have
>> it, and laid himself open to the playful sallies of the students of his
>> time, one of whom announced a course of lectures on Oudenology, which
>> was supposed to be a travesty of some of his prelections."
>>
>> https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015047691798&view=1up&seq=102&q1=oudenology
>>
>> Occasional attestation thereafter in the 19th and 20th centuries, often
>> in a humorous medical context involving the history of vaccination.
>>

-- 
James Eric Lawson

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