One of the ways in which English expands the lexicon is by using what are called ‘productive’ prefixes or suffixes. These are little working units with an element of meaning which can be attached to the beginning or the end of another word to create a new word. Some of these are very durable while others are fashionable for a moment so that they generate a cluster of new words and then fade away. Read more…

We often describe reactions in terms of the effect they have on our bodies, both real and imagined.

So something that is scary is hair-raising – our hair stands on end, or is bloodcurdling – we imagine our blood solidifying like curdled milk. Read more…

Announcing Macquarie Dictionary’s new online student resource! We have expanded our extensive online offerings to include a dictionary and thesaurus compiled specifically for students.

You can get a free 30-day individual trial or contact us to subscribe for your school. Read more…

A dictionary user has commented ‘I can agree to disagree but if I can dismantle, why can’t I mantle?’ Read more…

We still say it – or at least the older generation does because they are still living in a world where sliced bread is a staple – for toast in the morning, for school lunches. Cutting a crusty loaf yourself is regarded, from that point of view, as some sort of throwback to Neanderthal times… Read more…

It is my feeling that mateship is a stronger and tougher relationship than friendship, having been forged in adversity.

The basic sense of friend is a person with whom you have achieved a degree of intimacy that is entirely unfettered by a sense of obligation. Friendship excludes the bonds of affection that are there between blood relations or between lovers. Read more…

The Macquarie Dictionary is proud to have international award-winning Australian author, Kate Grenville pen the foreword for the the Seventh Edition. You can get your copy of the Macquarie Dictionary Seventh Edition here or wherever good books are sold. Read more…

The pronunciation that bothers me most is one that I shouldn’t really be fussed about at all. It is the shift in the pronunciation of worry which used to rhyme with hurry but now rhymes, more and more, with sorry.

This word has had various forms and pronunciations in its history in the English language. It started out as an Old English word wyrgan meaning ‘to strangle’ (from which we got the idea of the dog worrying the sheep, from which we got the notion of feeling upset and anxious). Read more…

The Seventh Edition of the Macquarie Dictionary is here. It’s a beautifully packaged, incredibly useful work for anyone who yearns to know more about the Australian English language. You can get your copy of the Macquarie Dictionary Seventh Edition here or wherever good books are sold. Read more…

The People’s Choice Word of the Year 2016 goes to halal snack pack! Honorable mentions go to alt-right and fake news. Read more…

A collection of some media coverage of Word of the Year 2016.

My father was trained as a journalist in the days when newspapers cared about their reputations as disseminators of information that was accurate and reliable. It wasn’t just a legal anxiety, it was an organisational pride in the quality of their news reporting. He told me that you can’t half-know something. You either know it or you don’t. Read more…

Lewis Carroll contributed some of the most inspirational writing in history to the world. With his remarkable manipulation of language, he captured the imaginations not only of children, but of aspiring writers, readers and everyone else who came in contact with his word. Read more…

Here at the Macquarie Dictionary, we have maintained our card catalogue from the early 1980s. It’s in more or less pristine condition, and contained within are hundreds of thousands of original words and definitions from the very first edition of our dictionary. Read more…