The Great American Dictionary

[Terrance]

The main ambition is to create something distinctively
        American: a democratic dictionary that describes,
not
        prescribes. Of course the debate over whether
dictionaries
        should be prescriptive — asserting that a word has
relatively
        determined meanings and a proper usage; or
descriptive,
        asserting that a word has shifting meanings
determined by its
        popular use — has been raging for several decades.
The best
        dictionaries maintain a precarious balance. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/25/arts/25SHEL.html