Dords

Dords refers to the fictitious dictionary headword dord, which became famous as a case study in lexicography for a long-running printing error. In the early to mid-20th century, dord appeared in some editions of Webster’s dictionaries as a noun defined as density or the density of a substance. It is not a real word, but rather the result of a typesetting or editorial slip that propagated through print.

Origin and nature of the error: The most commonly cited explanation is that an annotation or abbreviation meaning density, written as D or d. for density, was accidentally combined into a single string during typesetting. The misprint produced the headword “dord,” and the accompanying definition treated it as a legitimate entry. The error remained in circulation for several decades, appearing in printed dictionaries before being officially removed.

Removal and legacy: The dord entry was ultimately identified as an error and excised in later editions, notably Webster’s Third International Dictionary (1961). Since then, dord has been cited as one of the most famous dictionary mistakes in the history of lexicography. The plural form, dords, is used when referring to multiple instances or discussions of this particular slippage in various dictionaries.

Impact and usage: Today, dords is discussed mainly as a historical anecdote illustrating how editorial shortcuts or misread annotations can yield false entries. It serves as a cautionary example in the study of how reference works are produced and the importance of meticulous proofreading in lexicography.