Description
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
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
Présentation de l'éditeur
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.
