[Ads-l] Correction of Antedating of "Freak"

[Shapiro, Fred]

Upon reflection, it seems to me that the 1900 citation below is probably an example of OED freak, sense 3.b. "An abnormal, irregular, or unpredictable occurrence; a very rare or unexpected event," rather than OED freak, sense 6.  For the latter sense, the 1900 citation is even more of an antedating, since OED's first use for that sense is dated 1927.

Fred Shapiro


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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Friday, September 4, 2026 09:18
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Antedating of "Freak" (Enthusiast)

freak (OED, 6., 1902)

1900 Wichita Daily Eagle 2 Aug. 10/4 (Newspapers.com)

Queer Kodak Freak ... A photographic freak is chronicled by the Minco Weekly.

Fred Shapiro



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