Revision as of 10:54, 16 November 2018

The OTCWL2018 word list is edited according to the following editorial process.

Overview

Broadly speaking, there are four steps in editing the word list, each of which is described in greater detail below.

1. Choose candidate words
2. Research candidate words
3. Validate candidate words
4. Publish word list

Choose candidate words

Words found in the previous edition, OTCWL2016, may be nominated for deletion by any concerned party. Such words will be reviewed according to validation criteria below as time permits.

Words that should have been included in OTCWL2016 according to contemporary criteria, but may have been erroneously omitted, may be nominated for addition by any concerned party. Such words will be reviewed according to validation criteria below as time permits.

Words that have been newly added to OSPD since OTCWL2016 (and which are not found in OTCWL2016) will be added to the candidate word list. Since they have already been extensively vetted by Merriam-Webster, they will be considered to be validated unless a concerned party requests a review.

Words (both boldface main entries and their implicit inflections) found in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary (2nd edition) (COD2) will be considered candidates if they meet all of the following criteria:

• they have no more than 10 letters, or are an inflection or base form of a COD2 word with no more than 10 letters
• they meet the usual requirements for Scrabble words: do not require punctuation or capitalization, not always tagged as foreign, not always appearing as part of a phrase
• they have not been previously ruled invalid

Research candidate words

All words being added from COD2 should have their COD2 definition recorded in the NASPA Word Database to guide further discussion.

Words whose validity is uncertain (typically because the form or existence of an inflection is unclear) should have additional citations added to the word database to help support validation.

Validate candidate words

(draft saved here)