Dear Geist,

When a new word gets accepted, who accepts it? And once the word is in use, whose job is it to preserve it—spelling, meaning, punctuation and all the rest? It seems like words just fly around and do what they want!

—Word Herd, Seattle WA

Dear Word,

Indeed, words move about constantly, but it is people who find the words and put them to work. Fortunately we also have lexicographers: professional people who keep track of words as they move about, or suddenly appear, or disappear, or lie happily in a dictionary, untouched, for 50 years. Lexicographers are the people who ask the questions and keep track of the answers: Is this word in use? Has this word’s meaning changed over time? Has some hybrid overtaken a word that was once longtime stable word?

Lexicographers keep track of all of these points and many more, because word-use changes are lightning fast, and our dictionaries and other important references are only as good as their ability to stay current. But it is important to note that lexicographers do not offer opinions about any words; they simply keep track of how words are being used. To go beyond that would be to invite madness.

So, Word, you won’t find any value judgments among lexicographers, but you will find a trove of information about the words we use every day, without thinking about it.

Here is an interesting anecdote that shows how endless the search for words and meanings can be. It is one of many wonderful notes and bits to be found in the book Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language, by Patricia T. O’Connor and Stewart Kellerman. They were visitors at a live radio show, talking about words, when a listener called to ask about the origin of the word “jeep.” Stewart explained that the word comes from GP, the Army’s abbreviation for “general purpose” vehicle. “I had Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed.) at my elbow to back me up,” he said. But when he got home, he found an email from Florenz Eisman, whose husband Hy had drawn Popeye, Litle Iodine and Katzenjammer Kids cartoons for many years. “The word ‘jeep’ originated in the Popeye strip many moons ago,” she said, “before the Army vehicle was named.” The true source, she said, was a cartoon character: Eugene the Jeep. Merriam-Webster made the changes and unearthed some surprising lore, which can be found in Origins of the Specious.

—The Editors