The idea that a dictionary, a definitive record of language, might contain an error is fascinating. Reference materials are expected to be flawless, yet their creation by human editors and lexicographers makes the occasional mistake inevitable. These errors range from simple typographical slips to more complex linguistic accidents, all of which become preserved in print for a time. The search for a “wrong word” often leads to the most famous example of an unintentional mistake, known as a ghost word.
The Famous Dictionary Ghost Word
The word most frequently associated with an error in a major dictionary is “dord,” a four-letter entry that appeared in the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition of 1934. This non-existent noun was defined as “Density” and was specified for use in the fields of physics and chemistry.
The accidental creation of “dord” began with an index card submitted by the dictionary’s chemistry editor, Austin M. Patterson, in 1931. The card was intended to add “density” to the list of terms for which the letter “D” or “d” could serve as an abbreviation, and it read “D or d, cont./density.” Due to the convention of typing headwords with spaces between the letters, the phrase “D or d” was misinterpreted as a single, run-together word: dord. A subsequent editorial stylist then assigned it a part of speech and a pronunciation, solidifying its place as a spurious entry.
This phantom word remained in the dictionary for five years, until 1939, when an editor grew suspicious because “dord” was missing an etymology. An investigation uncovered the chain of errors stemming from the misread abbreviation card. The entry was finally excised from the printing plates, though “dord” was not completely removed from all bound copies until 1947.
Beyond the Ghost Word: Other Noteworthy Errors
While “dord” represents an accidental ghost word, other errors are deliberately included in reference works as a form of copyright protection. These intentional fictitious entries are sometimes referred to as nihilartikel or Mountweasels, named after a fake biographical entry placed in the 1975 New Columbia Encyclopedia. By including a non-existent word or person, publishers can later prove plagiarism if a competing work contains the identical false information.
Another category of dictionary error involves factual inaccuracies rather than linguistic ones, such as the famous incorrect definition of a siphon that persisted in the Oxford English Dictionary for decades. The definition incorrectly stated that a siphon’s function was based on atmospheric pressure, when in reality, it is gravity that moves the fluid. Other historical ghost words include “abacot,” which was a misprint of the word bycoket, a type of headwear. These examples illustrate that dictionary errors are not limited to misspellings but can also involve factual mistakes, typographic slips, and calculated measures to protect intellectual property.