Oxford English Dictionary will change the entry for 'marriage' to include gay people after same-sex weddings enshrined in law

Oxford English Dictionary confirms it will amend the definition after law

Spokeswoman said: 'We continually monitor the words in our dictionaries



The Oxford English Dictionary will change the defintion of marriage now a law allowing same-sex unions has been passed

The leading authority on the English language has confirmed that the definition of the word 'marriage' will be changed now a law allowing same-sex couples to get married has been passed.

Language experts at the Oxford English Dictionary said the definition did not change overnight but they will monitor how the word marriage changes over the next year.



An Oxford University Press spokeswoman said: ‘We continually monitor the words in our dictionaries, paying particular to those words whose usage is shifting, so yes, this will happen with marriage.’



As it stands, OxfordDictionaries.com defines marriage as being a ‘formal union of a man and a woman, typically as recognised by law, by which they become husband and wife.’

In a reference, it says marriage could also be ‘(in some jurisdictions) a union between partners of the same sex’.



Gay marriage was passed by Parliament on July 17 despite fierce opposition from some Tory MPs and grassroots members, who were angered by the Prime Minister prioritising the issue over economic problems.

‘We are constantly monitoring usage in this area in order to consider what revisions and updates we may need to make,’ the Oxford University Press spokeswoman told the Gay Star News.

‘It’s worth pointing out that, as the OED is distinct from other dictionaries in being a historical record of the language, meanings of the past will remain, even while language changes and new ones are added.’

Other countries that have changed the definition of marriage are France , where dictionary Larousse changed the definition to a ‘solemn act between two same-sex or different-sex persons, who decide to establish a union’, and Canada.

Language experts at the Oxford English Dictionary said the definition did not change overnight but they will monitor how the word marriage changes

A lesbian couple kiss each other outside the Civil Register Office in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Other countries that have passed legislation have changed dictionary definitions



