The Dictionary of Lost Words

“Dr. Murray was the one who named it the Scriptorium—he must have thought it an indignity for the English language to be stored in a garden shed—but everyone who worked there called it the Scrippy.”

This early quotation illustrates the stubborn malleability of language and the inevitable futility of the lexicographers’ goal of prescribing rather than simply describing its usage. Dr. Murray wants the Scriptorium to reflect his idea of what English should be, but the nickname the shed earns is much more evocative of the comfortable, cozy workspace that it becomes. This shows that despite the editors’ best efforts, language is constantly evolving.

“When I asked him what fashionable meant, he said it was something that mattered a lot to some and not at all to others, and it could be applied to everything from hats to wallpaper to the time you arrived at a party.”

Whenever Esme asks Harry what words mean, he gives her not only the denotation—the strict definition—but the connotation and values behind the word. Here, he supplies the idea that being fashionable is important for only some social strata, showing Esme that words aren’t as rigid as a dictionary might make them sound.

“New words, but they made Da feel uncomfortable. For the first time in my life I felt unsure about my questions. We fell into a rare silence, with catamenia and menstruation hanging meaningless in the air.”

As Esme gets her period, the new words that express her physical condition are hard to share with her father, and their relationships develops an unusual awkwardness. For the first time, Esme sees how even the best-meaning men of her time react to words about women’s bodies.