I have always thought that startlement is a word in the lexicon. But one day when I was writing in a google doc, I saw it underlined like a typo. I googled it to see if it was indeed a word, or a construct of my imagination, and I found very contradicting answers. It wasn't listed as a word in the following dictionaries:
These two dictionaries are much used, yet they do not have this word.
But then I found the two dictionaries below, both with startlement in their databases.
Even Scrabble Dictionary has it listed as a word, yet when you google startlement no definition pops up. It's even underlined with a red line on this site, a site about the English language!
Why do some dictionaries have it as a word, and some don't? Well the word is quite rare, Collins dictionary says so. But a graph at the bottom of their page says a bit more. It shows massive drops and increases in the usage of the "word". So for something that has been used a bit, even in recent times, why isn't it listed as a word in many dictionaries? I am starting to believe it isn't an actual word, and just slang, which is the case with brung, something I learned a while ago. So, is startlement a very rare word, or very rare slang? And why has there been so much up and down in the usage of the "word"?