[Ads-l] "Jazz" Dating in Merriam-Webster

[Shapiro, Fred]

I guess there is one reasonable explanation for Merriam-Webster's 1913 dating for "jazz."  Are they rejecting the Ben Henderson baseball usage of 1912, i.e., do they feel that that was a coincidental use, not the same word as the West Coast slang usage of 1913 for which we have so much evidence ?  That is a minority theory, but not a crazy one.

Fred Shapiro

________________________________
From: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2024 8:33 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: "Jazz" Dating in Merriam-Webster

I have great respect for the quality of Merriam-Webster's lexicography.  But I am surprised to notice that their dating for the word "jazz" is 1913.  It has been 21 years since George Thompson unearthed "jazz" in 1912, the word is of the highest order of importance, and the 1912 occurrence has received a lot of publicity.

Fred Shapiro

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