Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford English Dictionary. It is a comprehensive historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press. Tracing the development of English from its earliest recorded use, it provides detailed definitions, etymologies, and extensive dated quotations for over 600,000 words. It is widely regarded as the principal authority on the lexicography and history of English.

History and development

The project originated from a 1857 proposal by the Philological Society of London, notably by members Richard Chenevix Trench, Frederick Furnivall, and Herbert Coleridge, who found existing dictionaries like Samuel Johnson's and Noah Webster's incomplete. James Murray was appointed as the first full editor in 1879, with the publishing agreement secured with the Clarendon Press. The first fascicle was published in 1884, and the first full edition was completed in 1928 under the subsequent editorship of Henry Bradley, William Craigie, and Charles Talbut Onions. A landmark supplement was edited by Robert Burchfield in the late 20th century, leading to the integrated second edition published in 1989. The ongoing third edition, under the editorial leadership of Michael Proffitt, represents a continuous revision process begun in 1993.

Content and structure

Its entries are organized not just by definition but as detailed histories of each word, showing changes in form, meaning, and usage over time. Each entry includes the pronunciation (using the International Phonetic Alphabet), etymology tracing roots to languages like Old English, Old Norse, Latin, and Ancient Greek, and a chronological series of quotations sourced from a vast range of literature, historical documents, and specialist publications. These illustrative quotations are drawn from authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and Jane Austen, as well as from sources like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and modern technical journals. The dictionary covers the entire English-speaking world, documenting regional variations from Scottish English to Australian English.

Editorial process and revisions

The editorial work is based on a systematic reading program that began in the 19th century, where volunteers submitted quotation slips from published works. This method was pioneered by Murray at his Scriptorium in Mill Hill. Today, a permanent staff of lexicographers at Oxford University Press conducts ongoing research, using digital corpora like the Oxford English Corpus and the British National Corpus to track new words and usage. Each revision involves meticulous scholarship, consulting experts in fields from botany to computer science. The process for adding a new word requires evidence of sustained use over several years across multiple independent sources, following criteria established during the editorship of John Simpson.

Cultural and scholarly impact

It is frequently cited as the final arbiter in matters of English language meaning and history, influencing style guides, courts, and publishers worldwide. Its creation has been the subject of notable historical accounts, including Simon Winchester's *The Professor and the Madman*, which details the contributions of the American surgeon William Chester Minor. The dictionary is a fundamental resource for academic disciplines including linguistics, philology, literary criticism, and historical research. It has also been referenced in landmark legal cases, including in the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of the United States, to establish the historical meaning of statutory terms.

Digital and online access

The second edition was first released on CD-ROM in 1992. The current principal version is the online *OED Online*, launched in 2000, which is updated quarterly with revised entries and new words. This platform allows for sophisticated searching by date, etymology, region, and subject, integrating the dictionary's text with multimedia resources. Access is typically provided through institutional subscriptions from libraries and universities, including the Bodleian Library and the Library of Congress. The ongoing third edition revisions appear exclusively online, representing a dynamic and continuously evolving digital resource unlike the static print editions of the past.

Category:Oxford University Press Category:English dictionaries Category:1884 establishments in the United Kingdom