Editing New Oxford American Dictionary (section)

==<span id="Esquivalience"></span>Fictitious entry==
The dictionary includes an entry for the word "esquivalience", which it defines as meaning "the willful avoidance of one's official responsibilities". This is a [[fictitious entry]], intended to protect the copyright of the publication. The entry was invented by Christine Lindberg, one of the editors of the ''NOAD''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbierma.com/language/column/file/050921.htm |work=Chicago Tribune |title=Dictionary sets a trap with an invented word |first=Nathan |last=Bierma |date=September 21, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718224823/http://www.nbierma.com/language/column/file/050921.htm |archive-date=July 18, 2007 |access-date=September 8, 2014 }}</ref>

With the publication of the second edition, a rumor circulated that the dictionary contained a fictitious entry in the letter 'e'. ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'' contributing editor Henry Alford combed the section, and discussed several unusual entries he found with a group of American lexicographers. Most found "esquivalience" to be the most likely candidate, and when Alford approached ''NOAD'' editor in chief [[Erin McKean]] she confirmed it was a fake entry, which had been present since the first edition, in order to protect the copyright of the [[CD-ROM]] edition. Of the word, she said "its inherent fakeitude is fairly obvious".<ref name="alford">{{cite web | url = http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/08/29/050829ta_talk_alford | work = New Yorker | title = Not a Word | first = Henry | last = Alford | date = August 29, 2005 | access-date = September 8, 2014 | archive-date = July 7, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140707211527/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/08/29/050829ta_talk_alford | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="curzan">{{cite book | title=Fixing English: Prescriptivism and Language History | first=Anne | last=Curzan | isbn=9781107020757 | page=93 | date=8 May 2014 | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref>

The fake entry apparently ensnared [[Dictionary.com]], which included an entry for it (that has since been removed) which it attributed to ''[[Webster's]] New Millennium Dictionary'', both of which are owned by the private company [[Reference.com|Lexico]].<ref name="alford"/> Possibly due to its licensing of Oxford dictionaries, [[Google Dictionary]] included the word, listing three meanings and giving usage examples.