English is a fluid and ever-changing language, and many authors have contributed new words.  There is even a word for those ~  "Neologisms."   These are words that come into, dare I write it? - the "Lexicon" of everyday speech.  When a word is catchy enough, it becomes part of the language. There are many neologisms from literature:  Catch-22, Quixotic, Scrooge, or Pollyanna. Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" gave us many of them: Slithy, Burbled, Chortled, and Galumphing.  That "Slithy" is just one syllable from "Slytherin" should come as no surprise, either, yet JKR/WB would say that Slytherin is trademarked by them, and was "invented" by JKR.  But didn't she ever read "Jabberwocky" while growing up?  Isn't she influenced in her "inventiveness"?  


( More Thoughts )


The writer BabyBlue (ZoeRose) in the blog  Shell Cottage has written quite eloquently on this question of the Neologisms from the Harry Potter series.   If words are owned by the author, does that mean the definitions are also?  Is that why the "Unofficial" Lexicon is bad, while the "Official" HP Future Encyclopedia will be intrinsically good?  When the "Mother of All HP Encyclopedias" is published, will it have little trademark symbols beside each word?
  ( Essay by ZoeRose on the Lexicon and Word Ownership )