In 1844, the Philological Society of London began investigating the creation of a new English dictionary. This initial foray would lead to a dictionary that would be unlike any other dictionary ever created.

It would not just give the definition and spelling of a word, but a complete history of each word and where it came from. It would be one of the most ambitious literary projects in history.

Learn more about the Oxford English Dictionary on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices