Did you read recently that the Oxford University Press has been steadily removing (over the last few years) nature-related words from its Junior Dictionary?  Examples include:

acorn   blackberry   buttercup   fern   heather   minnow   moss   sycamore   willow

An OUP spokesperson said the dictionaries are “designed to reflect language as it is used, rather than seeking to prescribe certain words or word usages“, maintaining that about 400 words dedicated to nature remain there, including …

badger   bird   caterpillar   daffodil   feather   hedgehog   invertebrate   ladybird

Oddly, this story is not new; for a full list of words removed, see a Telegraph report in 2008 when the story first broke.

The question is: Does it matter?

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