The Oxford English Dictionary
We hope you’re enjoying using Oxford Dictionaries Online (ODO)
and that it’s providing you with the information and help you need to
answer all your English language queries. Oxford publishes many
different types of dictionaries in print and online, from bilingual
dictionaries, dictionaries for English learners, and children’s
dictionaries, to dictionaries for research and study. Perhaps the most
well known is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the definitive record of the English language.
The OED is one of the largest dictionaries in the world
and the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language,
tracing the use of more than 600,000 words over the last 1,000 years
through 3 million quotations. The OED defines and illustrates how a word
has been used, where it came from, when it first entered the language,
and how its meaning has changed over time and around the world, by
quoting from more than one hundred thousand modern and historical texts,
from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts,
wills, cookery books, and blogs.
The OED is a historical dictionary, with a structure that is very different from that of a dictionary of current English such as ODO. In ODO,
only present-day senses are covered and we describe the most common
meanings or senses first, making it easy for you to find guidance on
today’s language quickly. For each word in the OED, on the
other hand, the senses are dealt with in chronological order according
to the quotation evidence. This way the senses with the earliest
quotations appear first, and the senses which have developed more
recently appear further down the entry – like a ‘family tree’ for each
word. Also, unlike current English dictionaries, senses are never
removed from the OED. For example, if a word developed with a
particular sense in the nineteenth century but has more recently changed
to mean something quite different, the OED will show you both senses.
If you are looking for practical help or advice on how to use English in writing or communication today, then ODO
will provide you with all the information you need. If you’re
interested in how our language has developed over time or want to dig
deeper into its origins or variations around the world, then the OED is the definitive resource.
