Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

Product Description

From the beginning the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary was intended to be an abridgement of the full Oxford English Dictionary. The first editor William Little was appointed in 1902. He worked on it until his death in 1922 after which the dictionary was completed by H. W. Fowler Jessie Coulson & C. T. Onions. The First Edition was published in 1933 in two volumes. The Second Edition published in 1936 contained about 3 000 revisions & additions. The Third Edition (1944) contained an appendix of addenda & corrigenda & this edition was reprinted several times with corrections & additions the most significant being in 1973 with enlarged addenda (now running to over 70 pages) & a major revision of all the etymologies. The New Shorter was prepared under the editorship of Lesley Brown 1980-1993. It was the first complete revision of the dictionary being in fact not so much an overhaul of the existing text as a reabridgement of the OED & its Supplements. The Fifth Edition was published in 2002 & reverted to the name Shorter Oxford English Dictionary to emphasize the link between this 2-volume dictionary & the original 20-volume OED. The Sixth Edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary provides a complete update of this unique reference work. Based on the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary contains an incredible one-third of the coverage of the Oxford English Dictionary is just one-tenth of the size &

Includes:: all words in current English from 1700 to the present day plus the vocabulary of Shakespeare the Bible & other major works in English from before 1700. The new edition with a new introductory essay by language expert David Crystal on the History of English

Includes:: 2 500 new words & senses plus thousands of antedatings of existing words drawing on the huge ongoing research project for the Oxford English Dictionary & the wealth of information on language in use provided by the Oxford English Corpus. In addition the work

Includes:: many new"ations from recent authors a refreshed design & a complete review of spelling forms & defining vocabulary making it the most authoritative reference work available for both modern & historical English. For scholars & everyone with a serious interest in the English language the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is an unrivalled resource providing a unique description of the historical development of the language together with excellent coverage of current English. The Sixth Edition showcases the best of the traditional strengths of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary while bringing it up to date in its scholarship & research in the design & layout & in its treatment of the changing face of English.