Historical Terms
Searching for historical information may require you to use different terminology and keywords. These words may be outdated or considered offensive today but were used in the time periods when this material was created. The searches and records of primary and secondary historical resources reflect the language used within the resources themselves. To better access and discover them you may have to change your searching vocabulary.
The following resources can help to identify the history of terms and inform you what language is going to be useful in your research.
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new windowThe Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the accepted authority on the English language . It is a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over a half a million words, present and past. The OED covers words from across the English-speaking world. The online version is updated quarterly. Oxford U. Press
- How to use the OEDThis site outlines how to use the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). It also gives clear explanation on how to use the Historical Thesaurus in the OED.
- The Historical Thesaurus of EnglishThis is an alternate way to access the historical thesaurus. You can use this resource to find the history of certain terms to ensure your searches are using relevant terminology.