Dictionaries often conjure a sense of nostalgia; something large, smelling faintly of dust and vanilla, an authoritarian repository of all the words one would ever need in any given language.
Many of those named as authors and contributors to this dictionary have read, and discussed at length their love of, the book by Australian author and social researcher, Pip Williams’ The Dictionary of Lost Words. This book highlights the power of language and how it both shapes and is shaped by our experiences, interactions, and the social and cultural systems we live within. The vision for this dictionary is that it remains a living document, one where the metaphorical slips of paper can be added, removed, iteratively defined and redefined.