Gerald Combs wrote:
Philip Leonard wrote:
Gerald Combs wrote:
Gyro and Cygnus are both in the Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, and Wiktionary dictionaries of the English language (I don't have access to the OED). Does that not, by definition, make them English?
Actually I think the Oxford English Dictionary is the definitive work for the English language.
Is this by consensus, or is there some sort of governing body for the English language, similar to the Académie française?
I should've Googled harder first. According to http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutdictionaries/officialcommitt... there is no equivalent to the Académie française for English. Furthermore, the OED isn't to be treated as a definitive authority on English as far as the folks at Oxford are concerned.