The New Oxford Dictionary of English - Hardcover

Pearsall, Judy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198602855 ISBN 13: 9780198602859

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1999

Synopsis

This dictionary is one of the significant developments in the description of English since 1884, when the first part of the celebrated 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary was published. Its approach focuses on English as it is really used in the late 20th century, informed by currently available evidence and current thinking. Compiled after analysis of computerized databases of current English a rapid-reference page design separates out parts of speech, word histories, phrases, and derivatives to make information easy to find, and the most modern meaning of each word, as used by the majority of people, is placed first within each entry. Contemporary rules are given on question of usage, providing relevant advice on problems old and new. Word history notes not only explain the linguistic roots of words, but also tell the story of how a word's meaning and form have changed over time. Oxford's worldwide network of language consultants have contributed to entries on world English, to provide an accurate and systematic record of how the language is used all around the English-speaking world. Also included are modern, realistic pronunciations which are an accurate representation of late 20th-century speech, using the internationally recognized pronunciation system, IPA.

About this title

Review:

This is called the New Oxford Dictionary of English because it represents a new departure from the traditional Oxford approach. The book was largely written from scratch rather than being derived from previous Oxford dictionaries, and concentrates on the current core meanings of words and the relationship of other senses to this core, rather than a historical approach. There are no illustrations, but it follows its rivals in the big one-volume market by including encyclopaedic material on people and places. Thus "smolder", (the American spelling of "smoulder") is followed by:

Smolensk ... a city in western European Russia, on the River Dnieper close to the border with Belarus; pop.346,000 (1990).

Smollett ... Tobias (George) (1721-71), Scottish novelist. His humorous and fast-moving picaresque novels include The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748) and The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1751).

The editors have made the text as user-friendly as they could, using as natural a style of language as possible in the definitions. The way words are used figuratively or in phrases is made particularly clear, with generous illustrative quotations and notes on usage. Even the etymologies are explained in flowing, jargon-free language, showing how a word developed from its original meaning to its current sense. The text has been printed in three columns, which some readers might not like, but this does mean that the printers have been able to leave slightly more space between each line than their rivals, making it probably the most readable dictionary of its size. --Julia Cresswell

About the Author:

Judy Pearsall is Publishing Manager for English Dictionaries and Thesauruses at OUP.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0198602855
• ISBN 13: 9780198602859
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 2152