According to the 10th Edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "ain't" was added in 1778. As for why it was added, that I cannot explain.
When Was The Word 'Ain't' Added To The Dictionary?
Ain't...It's actually a contraction of 'am not.' It isn't considered proper, and it isn't really accepted because it suggests illiteracy and the inability to speak properly. When used by intelligent people, it is often used jokingly.
Another contraction I have trouble with is "aren't I?", though illogical (no one says "I are"), it is used in speech - but in writing there is no acceptable substitute for the "am I not?"
Another contraction I have trouble with is "aren't I?", though illogical (no one says "I are"), it is used in speech - but in writing there is no acceptable substitute for the "am I not?"
It is in Webster's Dictionary.
Wikipedia says it is included the in THIRD edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which was published in 1961. It may not be in Oxford's or some others, but it is definitely in that one.
www.merriam-webster.com Its etymology traces back to 1749.
The editor of the dictionary, Phillip Gove, is quoted as saying in a letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “The basic responsibility of a dictionary is to record language, not set its style.”
He did believe it was possible to mishandle a word and noted that the result could be significant. “The social and professional consequences of using a wrong word in wrong circumstances remain as serious as ever.”
So he was not quite the relativist described in his press clippings, but nor was he secretly a schoolmarm.
A former composition teacher, Gove, like Noah Webster before him, viewed the nineteenth-century fixation with grammar and many of its rules with great suspicion." From www.neh.gov
www.merriam-webster.com Its etymology traces back to 1749.
The editor of the dictionary, Phillip Gove, is quoted as saying in a letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “The basic responsibility of a dictionary is to record language, not set its style.”
He did believe it was possible to mishandle a word and noted that the result could be significant. “The social and professional consequences of using a wrong word in wrong circumstances remain as serious as ever.”
So he was not quite the relativist described in his press clippings, but nor was he secretly a schoolmarm.
A former composition teacher, Gove, like Noah Webster before him, viewed the nineteenth-century fixation with grammar and many of its rules with great suspicion." From www.neh.gov
Sorry to disagree with you both but it is in the Webster's Dictionary. Both the book and also in the online one. I looked it up. It is also in my English-Spanish dictionary.
What's the big deal? Ain't is a word. I use it often, and I hate to burst your bubble, but I am not any less educated than any of you. Ain't is simply a shortcut and it works. If you know what it means then it is a word.
While we are at it, "stupider" is not in the dictionary, but I bet you know what someone means when they say it. Just because a pile of letters ain't included in a book don't mean it ain't a word. Language always changes, so get used to it.
While we are at it, "stupider" is not in the dictionary, but I bet you know what someone means when they say it. Just because a pile of letters ain't included in a book don't mean it ain't a word. Language always changes, so get used to it.
It was never added, or it wasn't in my dictionary. Here is a definition.... Ain't is slang for "isn't".
Ain't is not in the dictionary, I'm afraid. It's technically not a word.
