 Seven of the twenty volumes of the printed second edition of The Oxford English Dictionary (1989) | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Published |
|
| Website | www |
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first edition in 1884, traces the historical development of the English language, providing a comprehensive resource to scholars and academic researchers, and provides ongoing descriptions of English language usage in its variations around the world.[2]
In 1857, work first began on the dictionary, though the first edition was not published In until 1884. It began to be published in unbound fascicles as work continued on the project, under the name of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by The Philological Society. In 1895, the title The Oxford English Dictionary was first used unofficially on the covers of the series, and in 1928 the full dictionary was republished in 10 bound volumes.
In 1933, the title The Oxford English Dictionary fully replaced the former name in all occurrences in its reprinting as 12 volumes with a one-volume supplement. More supplements came over the years until 1989, when the second edition was published, comprising 21,728 pages in 20 volumes.[1] Since 2000, compilation of a third edition of the dictionary has been underway, approximately half of which was complete by 2018.[1]
In 1988, the first electronic version of the dictionary was made available, and the online version has been available since 2000. By April 2014, it was receiving over two million visits per month. The third edition of the dictionary is expected to be available exclusively in electronic form; the CEO of OUP has stated that it is unlikely that it will ever be printed.[1][3][4]
- ^ a b c d Dickson, Andrew (23 February 2018). "Inside the OED: can the world's biggest dictionary survive the internet?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
- ^ "About". Oxford English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from those of current English, in which the focus is on present-day meanings.
- ^ Alastair Jamieson, Alastair (29 August 2010). "Oxford English Dictionary 'will not be printed again'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ Flanagan, Padraic (20 April 2014). "RIP for OED as world's finest dictionary goes out of print". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2014.