The Oxford English Dictionary (Hardback)

John Simpson (editor), Edmund Weiner (editor)

£862.50

Hardback Published: 30/03/1989

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Synopsis

The 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It traces the usage of words through 2.4 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources.

The OED has a unique historical focus. Accompanying each definition is a chronologically arranged group of quotations that trace the usage of words, and show the contexts in which they can be used. The quotations are drawn from a huge variety of sources worldwide - literary, scholarly, technical, and popular - and represent authors as disparate as Geoffrey Chaucer and Erica Jong, William Shakespeare, Charles Darwin and Isabella Beeton.

Other features distinguishing the entries in the Dictionary are authoritative definitions; detailed information on pronunciation using the International Phonetic Alphabet; listings of variant spellings used throughout each word's history; extensive treatment of etymology; and details of area of usage and of any regional characteristics.

Alongside the print edition is the Oxford English Dictionary Online (www.oed.com). Updated quarterly, this award-winning online resource allows the Dictionary to evolve with the English language while the print edition remains as a historical record. Subscriptions are available to OED online on an individual or institutional basis. Visit www.oup.com/online/oed/ for details.

Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198611868
Weight: 2988 g
Dimensions: 1775 x 1350 x 283 mm

MEDIA REVIEWS

The OED has been to me a teacher, a companion, a source of endless discovery. I could not have become a writer without it.-- Anthony Burgess The greatest treasure of words all the raw material a writer needs for a lifetime of work.-- Annie Proulx The Oxford English Dictionary is more than a national monument to lexicography. The vast storehouse of the words and phrases that constitute the vocabulary of the English-speaking people is the ultimate authority on the English language as well as a history of English speech and thought from its infancy to the present day.-- The Times The gigantic total picture of the English language...an epic achievement.-- The Observer The greatest dictionary ever compiled.-- Sunday Telegraph The greatest dictionary in any language.-- The Telegraph It is a remarkable work of scholarship, and must rank high among the wonders of the world of learning.-- The Times Educational Supplement The greatest work in dictionary making ever undertaken.-- The New York Times