Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 1

Dictionary definitions of social work

Abstract
English-language dictionary definitions of social work from a range of English
language sources are presented and discussed. It is argued that these represent
conventional educated understanding of the nature of social work, and will be the
basis of understanding for people unfamiliar with it. The definitions present social
work as official, mainly state, helping with personal problems with deprived, aged or
disabled groups, undertaken mainly by trained personnel with the aim of social
betterment. They do not incorporate definitions related to radical social change or
community work. Social work practitioners and representative organisations should
be aware of and may seek to modify implications of common perceptions of social
work.
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 2

Dictionary definitions of social work

Malcolm Payne
Director, Psycho-social and Spiritual Care, St Christopher’s Hospice, London

This paper reports and assesses dictionary definitions of social work. Defining a
complex social entity is a dubious undertaking, particularly since postmodernist
writers have suggested that social phenomena vary according to their historical and
social context, and definition outside of the context is unreliable and impossible.
Nevertheless, dictionaries define social work, and how they do so is important for two
reasons. First, dictionaries claim to represent the sense of a piece of language as
widely understood. They therefore describe conventional educated people’s
understanding of what may be, like social work, a specialised term. Second,
dictionaries are very widely available and are the place that people who are
unknowing about any topic turn for a quick and authoritative statement about what it
means, so a dictionary definition may be influential in establishing public views of the
nature of social work. Increasingly, people turn to electronic sources of information,
and many dictionaries have begun a new life on the internet, where they provide
instant answers to the question: ‘what is social work?’

Wordbooks and dictionaries have been produced for many centuries, often relying on
the interest and assiduousness of individual scholars. However, the self-confidence of
the nineteenth century founders of empire and scientific knowledge led to the
production of researched dictionaries. In particular, the Oxford English Dictionary
sought to provide a definition of every term used in the English language, based on
historical principles (Winchester, 2003). That is, volunteers collected quotations
illustrating meanings of every word found in printed English, showing how it was
used at different periods and analysed them to produce one or more definitions of
usage. Their citations are drawn from general usage rather than definitions made in
academic or specialist texts, so they do not represent specialised debate, and their
definitions represent the lexicographers’ interpretation of the usage in the linguistic
context, not a quotation from different usages. This dictionary claims to be complete
and authoritative, at least of written English. That there are alternative ways of
creating a dictionary is illustrated by the dictionaries published by Collins (now
HarperCollins). These are derived from computerised databases of spoken English.
The Oxford Dictionary of English (Soames and Stevenson, 2003) and the Concise
Oxford Dictionary (Thompson, 1995) also focus on current English, rather than trying
to identify the history of words.

English is spoken differently in many nations. American, Australian and Caribbean

English are only a few of the many possible variations. The first edition of Webster’s
dictionary (originally a personal collection) of American English appeared in 1828
(Winchester, 2003: 33) long before the Oxford dictionary was being compiled,
although the Oxford dictionary sought to include American and other national usages
within its compass. The Oxford dictionary attempts to describe changes in usage over
time in its definitions, different national and dialect usages.
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 3

The paper examines how dictionaries define social work on the basis that this
represents how social work is linguistically constructed from educated but non-
specialist perceptions.

Method
The on-line database of dictionaries provided at the British Library was searched on
13th August 2004, and all printed dictionaries and encyclopedias available in the
British Library Humanities 1 Reading Room at 3.00pm on the same date were
searched for their definitions of social work. Comparators of specialised references
works available on open access in the social science reading room at 2.00pm on 6th
August 2005 and medical dictionaries available on open access at 4.00pm in the
science and technology reading room on the same date in the Library were also
searched for ‘social work’. One dictionary in an unusual form was included: the latest
Oxford edition of Roget’s Thesaurus (Kirkpatrick, 1998), which was the only
thesaurus available in the Reading Room to contain the term ‘social work’. The
Thesaurus groups terms according to the ideas they represent. It may be consulted to
seek terms similar to, but distinguishable from, the selected word. A search for
‘dictionaries’ on Google, the widely-used internet search engine, was carried out on
17th August 2004, and the first 10 results searched to identify dictionaries that
contained definitions of social work. The results from printed dictionaries are set out
in Table 1, those from internet dictionaries in Table 2. Results from the Oxford
dictionaries are listed first, followed in alphabetical order by other dictionaries
available. The internet definitions are clustered where they are related, but otherwise
they are presented in alphabetical order of the publisher. Some internet definitions are
taken from or rely on published dictionaries not available at the British Library on the
search day.

Other libraries will contain different dictionaries, but it was considered that this
method offered access to the definitions of social work provided in short compass in
an authoritative library, so the kind of definitions that will be available in most
reference sources are likely to be well represented by this search, even if other
dictionaries are different in detail. The significance of seeking dictionaries on open
access is that only the most up-to-date reference works are provided on open access at
the British Library and that this, in turn, will represent currently available definitions,
rather than historical material. The tabulations are provided in this article to allow the
reader access to judge the outcomes for themselves.

Findings
Table 1 Definitions of ‘social work’ from printed dictionaries

Oxford
Work of benefit to those in need of help, especially professional or voluntary service
of a specialized nature concerned with community welfare and family or social
problems arising mainly from poverty, mental or physical handicap, maladjustment,
delinquency etc. Hence social worker, one who undertakes social work, especially
someone professionally trained
Oxford English Dictionary: (Simpson and Weiner, 1989)
---
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 4

work carried out by trained personnel with the aim of alleviating the conditions of
those people in a community suffering from social deprivation.
Oxford Dictionary of English: (Soames and Stevenson, 2003)
---
work of benefit to those in need of help or welfare; esp. such work provided by
trained personnel for those with family or social problems often arising from poverty,
handicap, etc. social worker: a person who undertakes social work, especially on a
professional basis.
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: (Trumble and Stevenson, 2002)
---

work carried out by trained personnel with the aim of alleviating the condition of
those people in a community suffering from social deprivation.
Concise Oxford Dictionary: (Pearsall, 1999)
---

work carried out by trained personnel with the aim of alleviating the conditions of
those in need of help or welfare.
New Oxford American Dictionary (Jewell and Abate, 2001)
---
work of benefit to those in need of help or welfare; especially done by specially
trained personnel. social worker a person trained to do social work.
Australian Oxford Dictionary (Moore, 2000)
---
work done to help people in the community with special needs.
Canadian Oxford Dictionary (Barber, 1999)
---
Social work: social care; social worker: reformer, worker, aider, philanthropist
Roget’s Thesaurus: (Kirkpatrick, 1998)
---

Chambers
Any of various forms of welfare intended to promote the wellbeing of those regarded
as socially disadvantaged
The Chambers Dictionary: (Brookes, 2003)
---

Collins
Any of various social services designed to alleviate the conditions of the poor and
aged and to increase the welfare of children
(Treffrey, 2000: 1466)
---

Encarta
The profession or work of providing people in need with social services.
(Rooney, 1999: 1778).
---
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 5

Penguin
The activities of any of various professional agencies concerned with the aid of
underprivileged or disadvantaged members of society.
Penguin English Dictionary: (Allen, 2003)
Social work, n. any of various professional services, activities or methods concretely
concerned with the investigation, treatment, and material aid of the economically
underprivileged and socially maladjusted – compare case work, community
organization, group work.
Social worker, n. one engaged in social work; specifically a professionally trained
specialist in social work.
Webster’s New International Dictionary (Gove, 1984).

Simpson and Weiner (1989) (Table 1) is the latest comprehensive multi-volume

edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, and is an authoritative source of the
meaning and origins of words in English in written form. Moreover, it indicates the
age of terms in use, by the history of the quotations used to illustrate the usage. Only
one definition of ‘social work’ is offered; therefore no usages in particular dialects or
nations were identified by the lexicographers at the time the research was done,
during the 1980s. The definition therefore must be considered the broad
understanding of the term ‘social work’ in educated use in the later twentieth century.
The earliest citation is from 1890, a comment in the Girl’s Own Paper. The earliest
citation for the derivation ‘social worker’ is from 1904, the Annual Register of the
University of Chicago. The earliest UK citation for ‘social worker’ is a publication by
F. G. D’Aeth in 1912, an early voluntary sector activist (Poole, 1960).

Other Oxford dictionaries rely on this definition, shortening it in various ways. The
Thesaurus (Kirkpatrick, 1998) connects social work with ‘social care’. It connects
‘social worker’ with a range of ideas, including reform, aid and philanthropy. Other
thesauruses available did not include compound terms such as social work. The non-
Oxford dictionaries present brief definitions conveying similar ideas to the Oxford
dictionaries.

Table 2 Definitions of ‘social work’ from on-line dictionaries

American Heritage
Organized work intended to advance the social conditions of a community, and
especially of the disadvantaged, by providing psychological counseling, guidance, and
assistance, especially in the form of social services. Social worker Noun.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition,
(Houghton Mifflin) http://www.yourdictionary.com/

Organized public work to aid the disadvantaged and counsel those with special
problems.
The American Heritage Concise Dictionary (1994) http://xrefrplus.com/entry/717480
---
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 6

Cambridge:
social worker: a person who works for the social services or for a private
organization providing help and support for people who need it; social work
(Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).
social worker: someone whose job is to help people who have problems because they
are poor, old, have difficulties with their family, etc; social work (Learner’s
Dictionary).
A social worker is a person who is specially trained to help people who need social
services. (Dictionary of American English).
Cambridge dictionary online: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
---

Chambers
Work in any of the services provided by local government for the care of
underprivileged people, e.g. the poor, the aged, people with disabilities etc.

Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (2001) http://xreferplus.com/entry/1228996

---

Columbia
organized effort to help individuals and families to adjust themselves to the
community, as well as to adapt the community to the needs of such persons and
families.

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2001. http://www.bartleby.com/65/

---

Crystal:
A term which is usually understood to refer to the occupational activities of the social-
work profession, i.e. the provision of social services to the ‘needy’, including
counselling, care, and the general administration of benefits of the state. Social work
has its origins in late 19th-century charitable organisations which provided assistance
to hospital staff and helped distribute poor relief.
Crystal Reference Encyclopedia (2001) http://xreferplus.com/entry/956761
---

any of various services designed to aid the poor and aged and to increase the welfare
of children
Onelook: http://www.onelook.com/;
Wordnet: http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/~wn/;
LookWAYup: http://lookwayup.com/free/dictionary.htm
---

Allwords
work in any of the services provided by local government for the care of
underprivileged people, eg the poor, the aged, people with disabilities, etc. social
worker: An official who carries out social work.
Allwords: http://www.allwords.com/index.php
---
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 7

Ultralingua dictionary
any of various services designed to aid the poor and aged and to increase the welfare
of children. social worker: Someone employed to provide social services (especially
to the disadvantaged)
http://www.ultralingua.net/index.html
---

Infoplease dictionary
social work: organized work directed toward the betterment of social conditions in the
community, as by seeking to improve the condition of the poor, to promote the
welfare of children, etc.
http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/
---

Merriam-Webster
any of various professional services, activities, or methods concretely concerned with
the investigation, treatment, and material aid of the economically underprivileged and
socially maladjusted
Merriam-Webster Online: http://www.m-w.com/

the activities of any of various professional agencies concerned with the aid of
underprivileged or disadvantaged members of society.
The Penguin English Dictionary (2000): http://xreferplus.com/entry/1174028
---

MSN Encarta Dictionary

provision of social services: the profession or work of providing people in need with
social services.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx
---

Oxford
work carried out by trained personnel with the aim of alleviating the condition of
those people in a community suffering from social deprivation.
Concise Oxford Dictionary: http://www.oxfordreference.conm/ENTRY.html?
subview=Mainentry=t23.e52908

work of benefit to those in need of help or welfare, especially done by specially

trained personnel.
Oxford American Dictionary of Current English:
http://www.oxfordreference.conm/ENTRY.html?subview=Mainentry=t21.e29171
---

Wordsmyth

work that promotes the well-being of society, by assisting the underprivileged or

disadvantaged. Derived Forms social worker, n.
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 8

Wordsmyth Online Dictionary: http://www.wordsmyth.net/live/home.php

The internet dictionaries (Table 2) present a larger number of definitions. Groups of

shared usage may be identified: the American Heritage dictionaries, the Cambridge
group of reference works, the Crystal reference works (which are related to Chambers
print-based reference works), the latest manifestation of Webster’s dictionary, now
Merriam-Webster, and again from Oxford dictionaries. Cambridge dictionaries are
unusual in treating ‘social worker’ as the headword, and ‘social work’ as the
derivative, rather than the other way round. These dictionaries are widely used, and
therefore influenced in their presentation, by non-native English speakers and
learners. Consequently, the ‘Learner’s Dictionary’ source presents a simplified
definition possibly for younger people, the ‘Advanced Learner’s’ dictionary
presenting a slightly more complex definition.

The internet dictionaries are internationally available and seek to represent an

internationally applicable definition, but some are explicitly sourced from the USA
(American Heritage, Columbia, Merriam-Webster, MSN Encarta, Wordnet), while
some are more orientated towards the UK (Cambridge, Chambers, Oxford). This
distinction is not always apparent on the site, particularly where other website
providers rely on lexicography from another source: several were using the Crystal
database for this purpose. In the following discussion, no distinction is made between
printed and internet sources; they are interrelated.

Discussion
This study examined dictionary definitions of social work, on the assumption that
these represent conventional educated understandings of the term, and of the work of
the social work profession. The fact that the research on which dictionaries are based
derives from printed sources or databases of spoken language represents how terms
are used generally, rather than in professional contexts. Many of the dictionaries
define social work as work in providing various social services. Works deriving from
Chambers dictionaries refer to local government services, Crystal more broadly to the
state, and the American Heritage Concise definition to ‘public work’. The Cambridge
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary distinguishes social services and private
organizations; implying that social services are of the state. Other definitions refer
more broadly to positive general aims, benefit to ‘society’ or ‘a community’ and
occasionally to advancing or bettering social conditions, or the negative obverse,
alleviating social deprivation or disadvantage.

Otherwise, the definitions focus firmly on benefit to the welfare of ‘those in need’,
‘those with special problems’, ‘the needy’, the disadvantaged, the underprivileged and
the socially maladjusted. To explain these general terms, examples are given, often of
‘the needy’, ‘the poor’, poverty, the aged and the handicapped, not described in
sensitive language. Family welfare and the care of children are also occasionally
mentioned, as are maladjustment and delinquency.

Mostly it is help, occasionally aid or assistance, that is provided, and where this is
described care, counselling, guidance and support are occasionally given as examples.
Webster (Gove, 1984) is the only dictionary to cross-reference casework, community
work and groupwork as methods; these are separately defined connected to social
work. Some definitions focus on the organised character of the help.
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 9

The usage presented in the dictionaries is intended to be international; there is no

distinction between the British English and American, Australian and Canadian
English usage of ‘social work’ presented in the dictionaries and no variations in
national or dialect meanings of social work.

The dictionaries do not identify historical changes in the usage of ‘social work’ over
time. Although the Oxford dictionary cites usage back to 1890, the first edition of its
entry ‘social’, published in 1919 but based on work mainly done before the first world
war, does not include ‘social work’. Its first appearance is the Supplement published
in 1933, based on work done in the 1920s, which provides the same definition as the
current edition. Early writings on the meaning of social work (e.g. Attlee, 1920,
Devine, 1922; Tufts, 1923; Alden, 1929) apply the term ‘social work’ to broad social
activism and concern, including practical help, but by the 1920s when the dictionaries
first noticed it, it had become the established term for professional helping activities,
especially social casework, rather than the wider social activism that would have been
a legitimate alternative twenty years earlier.

The dictionary definitions describe a twentieth century word, referring to organised

personal help to socially disadvantaged, or maladjusted, people. The help is provided
through official and often state organisations. Although the definitions are largely
about personal help, they recognise a wider objective of general social or community
benefit. The definitions require reference to ideas of ‘social service’ or ‘social
services’ and ‘need’. ‘Need’ is often seen as a pre-requisite of provision, so that social
work is implicitly not described as a universally available service or one that would be
chosen by people who were not ‘in need’. Several of the definitions incorporate an
assumption that social work is a profession or a professional activity, or comment that
while it may be more widely undertaken, it refers particularly to an established
profession or people with a specific training.

Conclusion
This paper examines dictionary definitions of social work on the assumption that they
provide an indication of the understanding of the nature of social work in an educated,
non-specialist public. The aim of doing so is primarily to document, but also to raise
questions about, a particular way in which social work is presented to the educated
public, by non-specialised sources of information. There are two broad findings that
may be contrary to the intuition of many readers specialised in social work: that
dictionaries do not distinguish much international variation in the meanings attached
to the word ‘social work’, and have not identified much historical change over a
century of usage.

Many specialists in social work, contrary to the impression given in dictionaries,

would think that there has been considerable change over time and there is national
variation in understandings of social work in different countries. I suggest that the
reasons for the disparity between specialist and general understanding may be
fourfold. First, the dictionaries are based on broad educated usage, so the nuances of
changing professional debate do not become incorporated unless they achieve a
profound change in public perception. Second, the research for dictionaries is
expensive and renewed only rarely, so that even a decade or two’s professional debate
does not become incorporated. Third, dictionaries and the definitional element of the
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 10

entries on social work in other reference works reflect what the writers think people
need to know for practical purposes and as a starting point. Reflecting the
complexities of professional debate about social work objectives and characteristics is
not the objective. Fourth, the dictionaries may represent a basic and unchanging truth
about the nature of social work and its role in society, that its social mandate is mainly
about personal helping and not social change.

A central issue about the nature of social work for many professionals is the balance
between personal helping and social change as objectives, between the psychological
and the social, between human rights and social justice as set out in the current
definition promoted by international social work organisations (IFSW, 2000).
Dictionary definitions are agreed in describing a social work that is a about personal
help by officials for needy and maladjusted people. By implication, the social work
presented in dictionaries is not a universally available or desirable service, it is only
for the ‘needy’.

Is this perception true and does it matter? I would argue that it is true in the sense that
the dictionary presentation is how social work mainly is in most countries, and this
presentation is the main priority in governments and funding agencies supporting it.
Dictionaries reflect that reality, because they have to reflect broad truths for a wide
audience. It matters if social workers would like to gain acceptance for the social
change and social justice aspects of social work as integral to practice. If dictionaries
adequately represent public perceptions, they have not achieved this objective, and
social work in all its complexity as current professional debate would represent it is
not generally accurately perceived. On the other hand, the impression given by
dictionaries is of a helping and valuable public service, so the school child or
journalist looking for a definition to start their essay or think piece or the relative of a
service user asking themselves ‘Well what do these people do anyway?’ will start
from a positive position.
 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 11

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Allen, R. (ed.)(2003) The Penguin English Dictionary, (2nd edn) London, Penguin.

Attlee, C. R. (1920) The Social Worker, London: Bell.

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 Dictionary Definitions of Social Work - 12

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