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Anyone know of a reliable source for when certain terms came into use in language ? I'm speaking of either phrases of several words, or single words with a certain meaning and when in popular usage they took on that meaning.
Posts: 283 | Registered: Feb 2006
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I have the Oxford Dictionary of Etymology, which tends to indicate when words took on particular meanings. I'm not sure about phrases, but IIRC there's also an Oxford Dictionary of Slang, which might cover that sort of thing.
Posts: 1469 | Registered: Jun 2005
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As I recall, the main Oxford English Dictionary---which I don't have a copy of---listed dates-of-origin as well. What you find would depend on what you're looking for.
Putting "word + date + origin" into Google produced about twenty eight million sites...some of the ones on the first page displayed, the only page I looked at, might be worth checking out.
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