What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s employer when he worked on the Oxford English Dictionary?

J.R.R. Tolkien worked for Oxford University Press while contributing to the Oxford English Dictionary.

After the First World War, Tolkien joined the staff working on the Oxford English Dictionary, then known as the New English Dictionary. He worked on the project from 1919 to 1920, focusing particularly on words beginning with the letter W and on their historical forms and meanings.

The job drew directly on his training in historical linguistics and Germanic languages. Tolkien later recalled that the work gave him valuable experience with word histories, sound changes, and the relationship between related languages. Those interests became central to both his academic career and his invented languages.

The Oxford English Dictionary is a historical dictionary that documents words through dated evidence and quotations. Tolkien’s role was not to write the entire dictionary or to serve as its sole editor. His employer was Oxford University Press, the organization responsible for publishing the dictionary.