Oxford, England – When it comes to answering questions about what constitutes the definitive word about the word, particularly in the English language, the authority resides with the folks behind the Oxford English Dictionary. For the better part of 170 years, the academics at Oxford document the history and evolution of words within the ever-growing English language. At present count, they have documented over 600,000 words. They include historic English words to those generated from the newer realms of the internet and social media. They even account for abbreviations.
However, in all of its hallowed pages, you won’t find the answer to this question in Oxford’s volumes: “What is the proper way to abbreviate Bill O’Brien’s name in correspondence?