JOHN Simpson doesn’t have a favourite word in the English language – he loves them all.

He joined the Oxford English Dictionary staff in 1976 and, since becoming chief editor in 1993, 60,000 new words have been added.

Now Mr Simpson, 59, says he “needs a break” from defining words and will retire from his post at Oxford University Press in Walton Street in October.

“People are always asking me what my favourite word is but I don’t have one,” said the father-of-two, who lived in Wheatley for 25 years until he moved to Cheltenham last year.

“Each word is a fascinating object of observation and analysis in its own right.

“It’s hard to pick out favourites from several decades of lexicography, but you always feel an affinity with the first word you edit and ‘Queen Mum’ was one.

“I remember hunting high and low for early evidence of the expression, only to see the current update project take the date of first use further back to 1954, early in the Queen’s reign.”

Mr Simpson, who lives with wife Hilary, 58, a former adviser to the county council’s chief executive, is a big fan of cricket and expects to watch a few Test matches during his retirement.

He will also work on a website about Irish novelist James Joyce.

He added: “I played for Holton and Wheatley Cricket Club for many years, so I shouldn’t forget the major update for the entry for ‘cricket’.

“We found written evidence for the word as far back as 1575 – and that involved a researcher in a German library checking the only copy of the source.”

Mr Simpson is the seventh OED editor since Sir James Murray’s appointment in 1879.

He said: “What James achieved was remarkable – both the style and panache in which they created their entries and the way they collected the material.

“They had to beg and borrow and get people to file their entries on index cards.”

Chief executive of Oxford University Press, Nigel Portwood, said: “John has made a truly outstanding contribution to the OED, and also to the English language, over the 37 years he has been at OUP.”

From November 1, Michael Proffitt, the current editorial project director, will take over as chief editor.