Australia's Macquarie Dictionary has changed its definition of 'monolid' after a complaint the word was racist.
The dictionary defined 'monolid' as 'an upper eyelid without a fold, perceived by some in Asia to give an appearance of lethargy or laziness'.
But a Melbourne mother, who does not want to be named, told SBS News she complained to the dictionary's publisher, Pan Macmillan Australia, over the definition.
"When I saw the initial definition I was concerned that it was associated with negative connotation of how that appearance may look," she said.
The Macquaire Dictionary has changed its definition of 'monolid'. Source: AAP
"I did take a bit of offence to it because a definition of a physical attribute shouldn't be described as a negative physical feature."
She said dictionary publishers should take more care when going through annual revisions.
"My suspicion is that that definition was coined a very long time ago, maybe from an initial edition or from a very long time ago," she said.
"It may have just slipped past as the new editions came out. Given that the editors responded very quickly I think they agree that it wasn't an appropriate definition to include in a national dictionary."
A statement from Macquarie Dictionary's senior editor Victoria Morgan said the dictionary had changed the meaning of "monolid" on its online platform and will rectify it on next year's updated print version.
It now states monolid is 'an upper eyelid without a fold, a characteristic of the eyes of many people of East Asian ethnicity'.
Ms Morgan said the complaint "was very valid and we appreciate her bringing it to our attention".
Her statement:
If the dictionary is notified of a possible error, inadequacy or omission regarding content, we always look into it and rectify the issue if warranted.
The woman who made the complaint said she's happier with the new, 'neutral' definition.
"If you don't define any other physical features to be negatively associated with something, why would you define monolid to be negatively associated with a particular race or ethnicity," she told SBS News.
"Now they've changed it to a neutral definition and I'm quite satisfied with that."
