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The Oxford English Dictionary
The 20-Volume OED and the new Version 3.0 CD-ROM makes exploring the resources of the most authoritative dictionary of the English language easy and complete.
The Oxford English Dictionary is the internationally recognized authority on the evolution of the English language from 1150 to the present day. The Dictionary defines over 500,000 words and traces their usage through 2.5 million illustrative quotations from a wide range of literary and other
sources. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, pronunciation, and history of the English language.
This new version of The Oxford English Dictionary (Second Edition) on CD-ROM thus offers unparalleled access to the world's most important reference work for the English language. The text of this version has been augmented with the inclusion of the Oxford English Dictionary Additions Series
(Volumes 1-3), published in 1993 and 1997, the Bibliography to the Second Edition, and other ancillary material. New Features
*The powerful Advanced search makes it possible to make use of the full potential of the OED. Complex search expressions can be built through the use of Boolean operators, case-sensitive searching, exact character searching, restricting searches to previous search results, searching in
pronunciations, and an extended range of wildcard options
*A new installation option makes it possible to run the Dictionary from the hard disk
*The Automatic Look-up feature enables fast access to OED headwords from any Microsoft Office 97 or 2000 application. This feature can be used within the OED CD-ROM itself to look up words in the definition or quotation text System PC with minimum 200 MHz Pentium-class processor; 32
MB RAM (64 MB recommended); 16-speed CD-ROM drive (32-speed recommended); Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, or XP (Local administrator rights are required to install and open the OED for the first time on a PC running Windows NT 4 and to install and run the OED on Windows 2000 and XP); 1.1 GB hard disk
space to run the OED from the CD-ROM and 1.7 GB to install the CD-ROM to the hard SVGA 800 x 600 16-bit (64k, high color) setting recommended.
The Oxford English Dictionary is the internationally recognized authority on the evolution of the English language from 1150 to the present day. The Dictionary defines over 500,000 words and traces their usage through 2.5 million illustrative quotations from a wide range of literary and other
sources. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, pronunciation, and history of the English language.
This new version of The Oxford English Dictionary (Second Edition) on CD-ROM thus offers unparalleled access to the world's most important reference work for the English language. The text of this version has been augmented with the inclusion of the Oxford English Dictionary Additions Series
(Volumes 1-3), published in 1993 and 1997, the Bibliography to the Second Edition, and other ancillary material. New Features
*The powerful Advanced search makes it possible to make use of the full potential of the OED. Complex search expressions can be built through the use of Boolean operators, case-sensitive searching, exact character searching, restricting searches to previous search results, searching in
pronunciations, and an extended range of wildcard options
*A new installation option makes it possible to run the Dictionary from the hard disk
*The Automatic Look-up feature enables fast access to OED headwords from any Microsoft Office 97 or 2000 application. This feature can be used within the OED CD-ROM itself to look up words in the definition or quotation text System PC with minimum 200 MHz Pentium-class processor; 32
MB RAM (64 MB recommended); 16-speed CD-ROM drive (32-speed recommended); Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, or XP (Local administrator rights are required to install and open the OED for the first time on a PC running Windows NT 4 and to install and run the OED on Windows 2000 and XP); 1.1 GB hard disk
space to run the OED from the CD-ROM and 1.7 GB to install the CD-ROM to the hard SVGA 800 x 600 16-bit (64k, high color) setting recommended.
22000 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1933
19 people are currently reading
349 people want to read
About the author
John Andrew Simpson
18 books4 followersJohn Simpson joined the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary in the summer of 1976. He was appointed Chief Editor in 1993. He is a member of the English Faculty at Oxford and of the Philological Society (where the idea of the Dictionary was first mooted in the 1850s), and a Fellow of Kellogg College. He is a world expert on proverbs and slang, and has edited dictionaries on both these subjects for Oxford University Press; he regularly lectures and broadcasts on the English language and on the Dictionary.
--from the author's website
--from the author's website
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
November 21, 2007
Man this book is booooooooring... It's just a bunch of definitions....
June 20, 2007
i'm workin' my way straight through! really. my vocab is gonna be HUGE! and then maybe i can move away from all my "hick tawk". prolly not.
October 14, 2007
The Oxford English Dictionary, or OED, is probably the best reference dictionary in the entire world. I have the 1989 20-volume set and so far have yet come up empty when looking something up, which I do at least once a week.
It is a prized centerpiece of my book collection and I cannot imagine that it - like airplane tickets, good running shoes and anything by Ross Thomas or Jim Thompson - is anything short of an investment in my future and that of my family.
It is a prized centerpiece of my book collection and I cannot imagine that it - like airplane tickets, good running shoes and anything by Ross Thomas or Jim Thompson - is anything short of an investment in my future and that of my family.
June 2, 2008
Too long.
Read
February 23, 2015Well, not "Read" like "Finished," but I dip into it a lot.
June 4, 2020
I love reference books. Indeed, I was that child who set out to read the dictionary. Frankly, it's not the best way to improve one's vocabulary, but it made me feel like a Scripp's kid (if you thought I didn't grow up watching the Bee live on TV and idolizing the spellers, you thought wrong).
Fast forward to college, I learned about the Oxford English Dictionary in college. Sure, I knew such a thing existed, but until then, I'd never had access to the OED, and thus was uninitiated into its powers. The first time I used it, I was hooked. Here was the lexicon of my dreams. Not only did it strive to be as complete as possible, it tracked usage over millennia, centuries, down to decades. The etymological record is simply superior. It sparked in me a love for specialized dictionaries, once I realized Google failed to help when I started to read academic works about literature.
Then, dear reader, I had the immense privilege of studying abroad at Oxford University, which was a heady delight. I grew personally attached to the OED in addition to my intellectual loyalty. I spent more than a few hours in the Oxford University Press store ogling the complete set of the OED, but where would I fit it in my dorm room? Or suitcase? How could I justify owning such a behemoth, particularly when the website updated quarterly, rather than every 50 years?
Fast forward again to my "graduation" from my masters' degree (thanks, 2020), when no less than five heavy boxes appeared on my doorstep. I cried when I opened them to find the complete set of the OED from my parents. My mom taught me to read, and now she was giving me the gift of the whole English language in 20 volumes. Immediately, I looked up my name [From the Anglo-Norman and Old French, from post-classical Latin via ancient Greek. Sweet music or song (sometimes used with reference to the singing of birds); †beauty of musical sounds, tunefulness, melodiousness (obsolete). In later use often simply: music (frequently with overtones of sense 3a)].
Behold, the Holy Grail is mine! At the tender age of 25, I can only imagine the many words I will look up over the coming decades of my life. Not just words I don't know, but words I do, which is like hearing new stories from old friends. My children will not know the meaning of Dictionary.com (unless it has an OED entry). My shelves will proclaim to all who enter: hark! Ask not Alexa the definition; she knoweth little, or not at all.
Besides its obvious use for defining words, the OED has the allure of a rollicking good history. The Professor and the Madman tells one story about its genesis. I haven't read it yet, but the movie made me cry. Watch it before you judge me for crying at a movie about a dictionary. A few decades after Murray and his Scottish brogue began climbing this mount, no one less than J. R. R. Tolkien himself joined the crew, putting his philology to good use working on entries under T and W. See The Ring of Words, behind which are editors of the OED, for Tolkien's contributions and his own language-building of Middle Earth.
Dictionaries are important to me because communication is important to me. The English language has grown to be the largest in the world, in terms of vocabulary,and definitely not because it colonized languages like it colonized the known world. The OED, by sheer hubris if nothing else, strives to be a complete record of this gargantuan language. Yet, language is fluid, permeable, inconsistent. Usage varies over time, from place to place, and now at lightning speed thanks to the internet. Any good dictionary strives not to present words as they should be, but as they are. The OED does this better than any other dictionary, because it tracks published usages of words. It's not trying to hang on to meanings that are slipping into obsolescence, or trying to reign in the vagaries of contemporary usages. Instead, it listens with a million ears to the real use of words. See its updates page for the latest additions. Remember that scene in Akeelah and the Bee in which her spelling coach said she couldn't use words that weren't in the dictionary? The poor man never met the OED, because it observes and records how words are used, rather than prescribing how (and what) words should be used.*
The purpose of a good dictionary is to help one be a better listener. It's not to augment one's vocabulary or make one seem more intelligent. It exists to help us make sense of the world around us, to help us understand the words we read and hear, and to help us communicate more clearly in a world in flux. Besides understanding the present, the OED shines in helping us understand the past, which is the task of history. Most people don't require 20 volumes of etymology and historical usages to do understand language, since they literally acquired their mother tongue(s) as babies,** but for me, the OED enhances my enjoyment of speaking and reading the English language.
The Babel of the English language.
The Mount Everest of dictionaries.
The emperor of my bookshelves.
*Unless you're Milton or Shakespeare, stop trying to make "fetch" happen. It's not going to happen.
**Acquiring one's mother tongue(s) is the greatest feat the human brain can accomplish, and we should all feel amazing that we peaked intellectually around age 3.
Fast forward to college, I learned about the Oxford English Dictionary in college. Sure, I knew such a thing existed, but until then, I'd never had access to the OED, and thus was uninitiated into its powers. The first time I used it, I was hooked. Here was the lexicon of my dreams. Not only did it strive to be as complete as possible, it tracked usage over millennia, centuries, down to decades. The etymological record is simply superior. It sparked in me a love for specialized dictionaries, once I realized Google failed to help when I started to read academic works about literature.
Then, dear reader, I had the immense privilege of studying abroad at Oxford University, which was a heady delight. I grew personally attached to the OED in addition to my intellectual loyalty. I spent more than a few hours in the Oxford University Press store ogling the complete set of the OED, but where would I fit it in my dorm room? Or suitcase? How could I justify owning such a behemoth, particularly when the website updated quarterly, rather than every 50 years?
Fast forward again to my "graduation" from my masters' degree (thanks, 2020), when no less than five heavy boxes appeared on my doorstep. I cried when I opened them to find the complete set of the OED from my parents. My mom taught me to read, and now she was giving me the gift of the whole English language in 20 volumes. Immediately, I looked up my name [From the Anglo-Norman and Old French, from post-classical Latin via ancient Greek. Sweet music or song (sometimes used with reference to the singing of birds); †beauty of musical sounds, tunefulness, melodiousness (obsolete). In later use often simply: music (frequently with overtones of sense 3a)].
Behold, the Holy Grail is mine! At the tender age of 25, I can only imagine the many words I will look up over the coming decades of my life. Not just words I don't know, but words I do, which is like hearing new stories from old friends. My children will not know the meaning of Dictionary.com (unless it has an OED entry). My shelves will proclaim to all who enter: hark! Ask not Alexa the definition; she knoweth little, or not at all.
Besides its obvious use for defining words, the OED has the allure of a rollicking good history. The Professor and the Madman tells one story about its genesis. I haven't read it yet, but the movie made me cry. Watch it before you judge me for crying at a movie about a dictionary. A few decades after Murray and his Scottish brogue began climbing this mount, no one less than J. R. R. Tolkien himself joined the crew, putting his philology to good use working on entries under T and W. See The Ring of Words, behind which are editors of the OED, for Tolkien's contributions and his own language-building of Middle Earth.
Dictionaries are important to me because communication is important to me. The English language has grown to be the largest in the world, in terms of vocabulary,
The purpose of a good dictionary is to help one be a better listener. It's not to augment one's vocabulary or make one seem more intelligent. It exists to help us make sense of the world around us, to help us understand the words we read and hear, and to help us communicate more clearly in a world in flux. Besides understanding the present, the OED shines in helping us understand the past, which is the task of history. Most people don't require 20 volumes of etymology and historical usages to do understand language, since they literally acquired their mother tongue(s) as babies,** but for me, the OED enhances my enjoyment of speaking and reading the English language.
The Babel of the English language.
The Mount Everest of dictionaries.
The emperor of my bookshelves.
*Unless you're Milton or Shakespeare, stop trying to make "fetch" happen. It's not going to happen.
**Acquiring one's mother tongue(s) is the greatest feat the human brain can accomplish, and we should all feel amazing that we peaked intellectually around age 3.
May 23, 2009
I got this in 1987, so I'm not sure I have this edition. I might have the one before. In any case, this is my most prized book (are the most prized books) in my collection.
May 16, 2013
This was not as riveting a read as one might suspect and the ending was too predictable.
Currently reading
April 25, 2015i read this kannada english wards jipuna
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2019
Essential reference for a complete understanding of the English language. Highly recommended.
Currently reading
November 2, 2022good
Want to read
April 30, 2012Simpson, John, Editor (1989) The Oxford English Dictionary
ISBN-10: 0198611862 $924.31
Content/Scope: The entirety of the English Language, by definition. Literally.
Accuracy/Authority: The Oxford Dictionary is one of the most well-known and widely-accepted dictionaries in the world. It is arguably one of the most authoritative dictionaries in the English Speaking world.
Arrangement/Presentation: No visuals, words in alphabetical order
Rationale: Every reference collection needs a good dictionary, and this is one of the best
Professional Review: http://www.cro2.org.libsrv.wku.edu/de...
ISBN-10: 0198611862 $924.31
Content/Scope: The entirety of the English Language, by definition. Literally.
Accuracy/Authority: The Oxford Dictionary is one of the most well-known and widely-accepted dictionaries in the world. It is arguably one of the most authoritative dictionaries in the English Speaking world.
Arrangement/Presentation: No visuals, words in alphabetical order
Rationale: Every reference collection needs a good dictionary, and this is one of the best
Professional Review: http://www.cro2.org.libsrv.wku.edu/de...
November 20, 2008
The most comprehensive dictionary of the English language (this second edition consists of over half a million words), its true beauty is the extensive etymology of over 2.5 million quotations. Not only a scholarly masterpiece, it's also a tremendous amount of fun to peruse. Read "The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary" for the unusual story of Dr. W.C. Minor, one of the major contributors to the original edition, who was incarcerated for life in England's most notorious insane asylum while working on this project.
October 4, 2018
Most likely, the OED is completely impractical as an everyday-use dictionary or for school. However, as a reference dictionary, it is probably without peer, thoroughly documenting the history of each and every word to have ever been published in the English language, with every definition and sense listed in chronological order. I'm really looking forward to the publication of the dictionary's third edition, while realizing that it could be impractical for it to appear in print (with a possible size of forty-plus volumes).
June 15, 2009
I am torn. I haven't the shelf space for a personal copy (to heck with the miniature two volume with magnifying glass, I say) and have yet to receive a set, complete with bookcase, as a Valentine's day gift, but I am not luddite enough to stay away from the online subscription I have access to at work. Print vs. electronic? I say yes to both.
Recent wordquisition: "long in the tooth" does refer to age, derived from estimating a horse's age based on its teeth.
I heart etymology!
Recent wordquisition: "long in the tooth" does refer to age, derived from estimating a horse's age based on its teeth.
I heart etymology!
May 26, 2011
Ever since I was a young boy I dreamed of owning the greatest dictionary in the world. One day my energy company told me I had been overcharged for several years and they owed me £350!
A couple of days later while browsing Amazon wondering how to spend it (as one does in times of good or ill fortune), I found the OED on special offer at £450!
One of my dreams has come true.
Now if only Tara would call me after all these years. . . . . .
A couple of days later while browsing Amazon wondering how to spend it (as one does in times of good or ill fortune), I found the OED on special offer at £450!
One of my dreams has come true.
Now if only Tara would call me after all these years. . . . . .
March 1, 2008
Without doubt the greatest lexical achievement produced thus far and probably the best printed dictionary that will ever be (since it'll all be just internets from here on out). Beautifully made, cleanly written, and tremendously researched. Fun just to leaf through, definitive in settling disagreements this is a book more people should spend more time with, myself included.
Currently reading
June 19, 2010The perfect gift for a freshly minted MLIS graduate. :-) Every entry is a small story that allows for reflection upon how the word has played a role (or has yet to) in my life. Geeky, meditative, and profoundly satisfying.
March 4, 2013
Truly, if I were ever stranded on a deserted island, the bound version of the OED is all I would need. Well, a songbook with the lyrics to all my favorite Christmas songs would also be nice. I could probably last in isolation indefinitely if I only had those 2 books.
September 17, 2007
This is pretty dry, but I find myself thinking about it daily so there must be something to it. Stylistic very avante garde.
December 19, 2007
This is one "book" I'll never read all the way through, but it's one of my favorites.
March 22, 2008
Awesome for bragging rights alone, and it's always fun to aid weaker lexicon owners in times of crisis.
April 12, 2008
sine qua non...
May 1, 2008
This is one "book" I don't think you can ever move to the "read" shelf...
May 20, 2008
The OED rules in the Heavens as the great and powerful god of all English dictionaries. This is hands down the most complete dictionary of the English Language ever made.
June 23, 2008
I love this book!!!
August 19, 2008
No, I haven't finished reading it.
August 26, 2008
The greatest single achievemnt of acadamia in the english language
Read
October 22, 2008An essential resource for any mid-size college with a large population of English majors.
-Lara
-Lara
October 31, 2008
If I had this book on a desert island, my life would not miss a beat.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews