Oxford Dictionary to ‘Redefine’ Marriage to Include Same-Sex Partners
In light of same-sex marriage recently becoming the law of the land in England and Wales, publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary have announced plans to revise the word "marriage" to reflect its changing definition.
In a statement to Gay Star News, an Oxford University Press spokeswoman said usage monitoring is a critical component of keeping the venerable dictionary consistent with changing times.
"We continually monitor the words in our dictionaries, paying particular to those words whose usage is shifting, so yes, this will happen with marriage," the spokeswoman is quoted as saying.
The OED currently defines marriage as "the formal union of a man and a woman, typically as recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife."
Other dictionaries published in countries where same-sex marriage is legal have already changed the meaning of "marriage" to conform with the new reality.
The leading French dictionary Larousse defines the word as "a solemn act between two same-sex or different-sex persons, who decide to establish a union."
The Canada Space Dictionary calls marriage "the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)."
