On 03/04/07, phoebe ayers <phoebe.wiki(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I don't really know how the OED people compile
their
quotes, but I trust them to do a good job at it and as professional
etymologists have an understanding of the issues involved that far exceeds
mine, and because it's directly printed in the OED, there's a record that
can be accessed long after we all stop working on Wikipedia.
The OED is surprisingly modern in the way it compiles its quotes -
most are sent in by volunteers, and have been since day one. They
submit the citation and context; editors do through the submissions,
decide if it's an interesting use or from an interesting date, and
check them against (where possible) an available copy of the same text
- if appropriate, any earlier editions than the one cited, as well.
So contributed by the masses and curated by the experts. It's worked well.
--
- Andrew Gray
andrew.gray(a)dunelm.org.uk