--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An end to timidity - the replacement of…" description: "\"“An end to timidity - the replacement of the philologically tentative by the lexicographically decisive.\" - on the making of the Oxford English Diction..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/simon-winchester-17875_quote_an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-th_1769313.jpg" --- # An end to timidity - the replacement of the philologically… ![“An end to timidity - the replacement of the philologically tentative by the lexicographically decisive." - on the making of the Oxford English Dictionary” quote by Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/simon-winchester-17875_quote_an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-th_1769313.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/simon-winchester-17875_quote_an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-th_1769313.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/simon-winchester-17875_quote_an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-th_1769313.jpg) > ““An end to timidity - the replacement of the philologically tentative by the lexicographically decisive." - on the making of the Oxford English Dictionary”” [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Replacing timid language study with bold, decisive lexicography transforms dictionaries. **In simple terms:** Bold choices shape language. Key Takeaway Embrace decisive action in research. Themes language confidence decisiveness scholarship history Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical historical When to use this quote - dictionary compilation - academic writing - policy drafting - creative projects Key Concepts lexicography psychology cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - When does decisiveness become recklessness? - How to balance caution with confidence? A Different Perspective Boldness can overlook nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [English Dictionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-dictionary-246632/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Lexicographically Decisive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lexicographically-decisive-1764365/) [Philologically Tentative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philologically-tentative-1764369/) [Tentative Lexicographically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tentative-lexicographically-1764367/) [Timidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timidity/) ## Related quotes > [As sheer casual reading matter, I still find the English dictionary the most interesting book in our language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/as-sheer-casual-reading-matter-i-still-find-the-english-dictionary/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) > [“Technology has also rapidly invaded our language. Every year the Oxford English Dictionary adds new words that it feels deserve to be part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gazzaley/technology-has-also-rapidly-invaded-our-language-every-year-the/) [Adam Gazzaley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gazzaley/) > [Basic dictionaries no longer belong on paper; the greatest, the 'Oxford English Dictionary,' has nimbly remade itself in cyberspace, where it has doubled in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/basic-dictionaries-no-longer-belong-on-paper-the-greatest-the-oxford/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“We started to collect more and more of these words and concepts, and began to realize what an arbitrarily selective work the Oxford English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/we-started-to-collect-more-and-more-of-these-words-and-concepts-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Are there any more beautiful words in the English dictionary than 'see you tomorrow?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-flackett/are-there-any-more-beautiful-words-in-the-english-dictionary-than-see/) [Jennifer Flackett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-flackett/) > [“How come "burbled" gets to be in the Oxford English Dictionary but "tulgy" doesn't? Hm?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tucker/how-come-burbled-gets-to-be-in-the-oxford-english-dictionary-but/) [Mike Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tucker/) > [“I am very bad at factual exams, yes-or-no questions, but can spread my wings with essays. Fifty pounds came with the Theodore Williams prize—£50!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/i-am-very-bad-at-factual-exams-yes-or-no-questions-but-can-spread-my/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [Girl: omgzz ma boyf iz lyk sah sxc omgzz iz gunna lyk marry him 4 realz he iz juz sah perf itz just cray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/girl-omgzz-ma-boyf-iz-lyk-sah-sxc-omgzz-iz-gunna-lyk-marry-him-4/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The irony of this endeavor is palpable, for English itself is a hopeless hodgepodge of other tongues, with more exceptions than rules, more chaos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/the-irony-of-this-endeavor-is-palpable-for-english-itself-is-a/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [Faith, Hope & Trust are biggest and strongest words in the English dictionary, without which a man cannot survive. Be very careful how, when,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanji-paul-arvind-2/faith-hope-trust-are-biggest-and-strongest-words-in-the-english/) [Sanji Paul Arvind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanji-paul-arvind-2/) > [“My head was spinning. I could think of nothing better to calm it down than the Oxford English Dictionary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/my-head-was-spinning-i-could-think-of-nothing-better-to-calm-it-down/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [I do not regret the folly of my youth, but the timidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-do-not-regret-the-folly-of-my-youth-but-the-timidity/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Whatever actions you take, keep in mind that over the course of life, you will fail far more from timidity, procrastination, and carefulness than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margie-warrell/whatever-actions-you-take-keep-in-mind-that-over-the-course-of-life/) [Margie Warrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margie-warrell/) > [Humility does not mean weakness. It does not mean timidity. It does not mean fear. A man can be humble and fearless. A man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/humility-does-not-mean-weakness-it-does-not-mean-timidity-it-does-not/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“Bear in mind that humility is not timidity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/bear-in-mind-that-humility-is-not-timidity/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) ## More by Simon Winchester > [“The very name Impressionism is taken from an Atlantic Ocean painting - that of Monet, of sunrise in the harbor of Le Havre, done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/the-very-name-impressionism-is-taken-from-an-atlantic-ocean-painting/) [Simon winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [My wife is very interested in fashion. I am absolutely not. I couldn't give a toss. Fashion is a perfectly valid thing to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/my-wife-is-very-interested-in-fashion-i-am-absolutely-not-i-couldn-t/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [“or of oats (“ a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people”),”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/or-of-oats-a-grain-which-in-england-is-generally-given-to-horses-but/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [To be perfectly honest the old habits, specifically deadlines, still very much inform what I do. I am brutally disciplined about getting manuscripts in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/to-be-perfectly-honest-the-old-habits-specifically-deadlines-still/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [I do as much bookish research as I can but when I sit down to write, often I think, 'Wait, I was there.' That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/i-do-as-much-bookish-research-as-i-can-but-when-i-sit-down-to-write/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [We should all live in central or southwest Queensland in Australia, which is geologically stable. Or Kansas or Nebraska, because it's relatively geologically stable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/we-should-all-live-in-central-or-southwest-queensland-in-australia/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [“The scientific world of the time was in the midst of a terrible ferment, with discoveries and realizations coming at an unseemly rate. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/the-scientific-world-of-the-time-was-in-the-midst-of-a-terrible/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [The nature of catastrophe is, after all, reasonably unvarying in the way it ruins, destroys, wounds and devastates. But if something can be learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/the-nature-of-catastrophe-is-after-all-reasonably-unvarying-in-the/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [“and his youngest sister, Henrietta, lived to a great age, also beside the sea, with a vast collection of cats—having previously traveled around England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/and-his-youngest-sister-henrietta-lived-to-a-great-age-also-beside/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [I find the science behind major natural events almost more interesting than the way in which those same events wreak their effects on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/i-find-the-science-behind-major-natural-events-almost-more/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [The most difficult task for anyone wandering through a foreign land with the hope of gaining some insight into it is the profound need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/the-most-difficult-task-for-anyone-wandering-through-a-foreign-land/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [“The cities of the eastern American fall line are well known today—Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Philadelphia—even though the part that the very similar accidents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/the-cities-of-the-eastern-american-fall-line-are-well-known-today/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [“Think simple, Murray kept insisting: Think simple.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/think-simple-murray-kept-insisting-think-simple/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [So research is a terribly imperfect science, and you learn an awful lot more after you've published a book, because people keep writing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/so-research-is-a-terribly-imperfect-science-and-you-learn-an-awful/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [Nature is not evil. The world occasionally shrugs its shoulders, and people get knocked off. The earth, for geological reasons that are well known,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/nature-is-not-evil-the-world-occasionally-shrugs-its-shoulders-and/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) [Explore all 36 Simon Winchester quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) [TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“An end to timidity - the replacement of the philologically tentative by the lexicographically decisive.\" - on the making of the Oxford English Dictionary”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Simon Winchester" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-the-philologically-tentative-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-the-philologically-tentative-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/simon-winchester-17875_quote_an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-th_1769313.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/simon-winchester-17875_quote_an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-th_1769313.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/simon-winchester-17875_quote_an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-th_1769313.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An end to timidity - the replacement of the philologically tentative by the lexicographically decisive.\"…” — Simon Winchester", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Simon Winchester", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“An end to timidity - the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-the-philologically-tentative-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/an-end-to-timidity-the-replacement-of-the-philologically-tentative-by/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```