Fwd: "1984, n." - Word of the Day from the OED

[Dave Monroe]

Pynchon's Intro to Orwell's 1984

http://www.scribd.com/doc/100899/Pynchons-Intro-to-Orwells-1984

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From: oedwotd at oup.com
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 01:30:00 +0100
Subject: "1984, n." - Word of the Day from the OED
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Your word for today is: 1984, n.

1984, n.
[‘ A totalitarian society in which propaganda and intensive
surveillance techniques are used to subjugate the population. Hence
allusively: a society in which personal freedom is (thought to be)
similarly curtailed or controlled.’]
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌnʌɪntiːnˌeɪtɪˈfɔː/,  U.S. /ˌnaɪnˌtinˌeɪdiˈfɔ(ə)r/
Forms:  19– nineteen eighty-four,   19– 1984.
Etymology: <  Nineteen Eighty-Four, the title of a novel written in
1949 by the English author ‘George Orwell’ (see Orwellian adj. and
n.), which gives a dystopian depiction of a future totalitarian state.
Usually written with numerical symbol.
  A totalitarian society in which propaganda and intensive
surveillance techniques are used to subjugate the population. Hence
allusively: a society in which personal freedom is (thought to be)
similarly curtailed or controlled.
1956 Times 13 July 9/2 People feared that the new machines would
further enslave them, and that skilled workers would sink into the
proletariat. Nineteen eighty-four loomed ominously.
1961  L. Mumford City in Hist. xvii. 527 Whether they extrapolate 1960
or anticipate 2060 their goal is actually ‘1984’.
1970 Time 16 Nov. 14 The political uses of television advertising and
packaging of candidates were heralded..as the ominous forerunner of
1984.
1990 Lancet 29 Sept. 781/1 As he proceeds down his path into the
uncertain 1990s, Mr. Clarke's approach befits 1984.
2002 N.Y. Times (Electronic ed.) 28 July, We don't want to see a
‘1984’ Orwellian-type situation here where neighbors are reporting on
neighbors.
Derivatives

 1984-ish adj.  Brit. /ˌnʌɪntiːnˌeɪtɪˈfɔːrɪʃ/,  U.S.
/ˌnaɪntinˌeɪdiˈfɔ(ə)rɪʃ/ evoking or resembling such a society.
1959 Times 27 Jan. 9/4 What ominous message was ‘C.O.P.’ meant to
convey?.. They were our old friend ‘close of play’... It did not seem
so friendly in this nineteen-eightyfourish disguise... The three stark
capitals had a kind of Big Brother look.
2000 Punch 13 Dec. 31 What develops..is a 1984-ish surreal world in turmoil.

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/127193

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