AMERICAN HERITAGE DI

by American Heritage

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, from which this paperback edition was created, is a new dictionary: new in content, new in format, and new in the wealth of information it offers. The idea for a truly American dictionary was conceived by the staff of American Heritage out of their deep sense of responsibility as custodians of the American tradition in language as well as history. Five years in the making as a joint project of American Heritage Publishing Company and Houghton Mifflin Company, it was prepared with the assistance of several hundred of America's most notable educators, writers, editors, and public speakers.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Dictionaries, Language, Writing, Textbooks, American

880 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Lobstergirl]

In my family we brushed our teeth with Crest, we downed delicious cans of incomparably viscous Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup (maybe I should reverse the order of those two), we drank Tang and ate at Burger King and Roy Rogers, we puttered around in Chryslers and Volkswagens, and when we were perplexed by a new word we turned to American Heritage. I've owned this dictionary for a long, long time and I've never felt the need to replace it. It may not contain the definitions of Bollywood, sudoku, or speed dating, and I'm sure the currency table needs some updating, but if you want to know what suint and ordure are, look no further. I always appreciated the fact that it contains special articles by Lee Pederson, Dwight Bolinger, William F. Buckley, Geoffrey Nunberg, and Henry Kučera, though I've never read them. (Bolinger and Buckley present arguments on whether "the prevailing usage of its speakers should be the chief determinant of acceptability in language" - Bolinger arguing for the affirmative, Buckley for the negative.)

[David Craft]

Not much of a plot, but the author has a good vocablulary...

[Belle Meade School]

423

[Aldean]

I grew up using an earlier edition of this dictionary (the same volume my mother took to college with her, in fact), so when I needed a handy compact word-book for quick reference at my desk, this was an easy choice. Scattered throughout are various tables and illustrations that are very helpful, and I really like the inclusion of historical personages; nothing to help you write a report, but if I need a quick pair of life dates, this is a great first place to look. And the words are clearly syllabicated, which is what drove me to need a desk dictionary in the first place. A high-quality reference, and one no desk in America should be without.

[Emily]

got etymology?

[Colin]

My preferred dictionary, even though the 4th edition has cut out most of the etymology that made the 3rd edition great.

[✨ Anna ✨ | ReadAllNight]

I use it often. Grammar, spelling, and usage nerd. Thank you Mrs. Vido, my amazing high school English teacher. You changed my life for the better and I think of you with gratitude often.

[EstelleLiterature]

In terms of giving a word's precise meaning, nuances, and examples, this American dictionary is the best I've seen; like Le Petit Robert in French, this book has preserved English's original beauty.

[Joomi Lee]

This is not the best dictionary I have ever owned but it is good enough. I own the 1985 edition.

[Less_cunning]

bought this at the Library booksale for one dollar this winter. my Merriam Webster 10th Edition is more or less falling apart & is dire need of rubber cement and packaging tape. although the American Hertiage Dictionary will never replace the enduringly love i have for the Merriam Webster 10th Edition nor supplant my piquant lust to one day own an OED, it has already become my go-to dictionary for quickly looking up words i do not know or cannot spell. Gooegle & Wikipedia will always fall short. If you find this dictionary somewhere cheap do not pass up on it.

[Jimmy]

While not a horrendously bad dictionary, at times it seems more like a one volume encyclopedia than a dictionary, such as including a table of proofreader's marks. The Bioraphical Entries and Geographic Entries sections seem out of place for a dictionary, especially since the entries contain so little information; for example, the entry for Clarence Darrow is only "Amer. lawyer", and for Crocodile, "Lumpopo".

[C Miller]

No bathroom should be without one. Makes a great coffee table book too. (in all seriousness, if you have kids, keep it handy as way to encourage a love of words and learning). Sounds boring but a good dictionary beats google anytime for the visceral experience of looking up and learning definitions, words.

[Liz]

Love the pix

[Rose]

423 Ame

[Peter]

Lots of good words in this one. Seriously: this book is well designed and easy to use.

[Erik]

I love this little bible of language.

[Marnie S. Angulo Delgado, B.A., CMI]

This resource forms part of my Interpreter/Translator library.

[Shota]

Pretty Good. More info than other ones

[Bella]

What can I say? It has a lot of words and greatly expanded my vocabulary... It's a dictionary and there's not much more to it. Would fully recommend reading it.