Can you suggest the best English Dictionary (book not on-line)?
frodosfoot asked:
I would like to buy a new English dictionary (book not on-line.) I don’t want an unabridged, but one that is one step down as far as being very comprehensive.
I would like some suggestions as to the best one available. The answers in a previous question leaned toward Merriam Webster, but I have heard that the American Heritage, although less familiar, is very good.
Also, has any one seen a webpage online that does a critical review and comparison of the different dictionaries available? I saw one some time ago, but now I can’t find it.
Fredie,
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9 Responses to “Can you suggest the best English Dictionary (book not on-line)?”
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) twenty volumes of words, words, words : amazing: I love it
I agree with Ivory33. There is probably no other English dictionary in the world that can compare. I once back in 1968 in the Navy found a really unique word for the game Scrabble we were playing aie in the Oxford dictionary the meaning said what one would yell when falling from a cliff. How much better can you get than that? AAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEE!
Mm. I really like the Webster’s unabridged, and have one at home because I find that anything smaller doesn’t seem to know many of the words that I don’t know (and they go on sale really cheap at this time of year).
But I keep a Webster’s college edition at work. It’s just big enough to help me with spelling and usage from time to time. If (as your post says) you don’t want an unabridged, that one might work for you, too.
The compact OED is my favorite. Just two volumes but you do need the magnifying glass it comes with!
Oxford English Dictionary is top of the line.
While the Oxford two-volume dictionary is “best” in many ways, the abridged Webster’s 2nd International Edition is available at lower prices.
The 2nd international edition has superior word definitions, i.e., a better editorship and feeling for word definitions, etymologies, etc. The Webster’s 3rd is distinctly inferior.
So, either the Oxford two volume, or an abridged Webster’s 2nd Int’l, would be my recommendations.
There is the “Shorter Oxford English Dictionary” (2-volume)–but it’s unabridged, and you said you didn’t want that. The “Concise OED” is good too. If you are in the US, there are American versions (since the OED is British). Oxford American Dictionary & Thesaurus, etc.
If you don’t want to go with Oxford, then either the Merriam-Webster or the American Heritage would be fine. These two are pretty comparable.
Have you used/known “Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary” (7th ed.)? also published in its International Student’s Edition in paperback and thus its price is reasonable & affordable. This dictionary has been republished and sold over 30 million copies worldwide. The pioneers, A.S. Hornby with his colleagues, E.V.Gatenby & H. Wakefield were the first scholars who made the ground-breaking dictionary compiled for students whose English are not their native language. In other words, from their long experience of teaching English to their students abroad some 60 years ago they found that the dictionaries then were primarily compiled for those students whose English was their native language. Therefore, foreign students learning English are/were unable to use & understand & apply essential information from those dictionaries effectively. I always recommend my students/colleagues to own/use this wonderful & authoritative dictionary since it has been meant for learners who study English as a foreign language.
Warning: in the U.S.A., “Webster’s” is a term available for any dictionary publisher. In other words, there is no single “Webster’s” dictionary, and without further specification you cannot determine which “Webster’s” is being recommended.
I have a Random House “College Dictionary” (also titled “Webster’s”). It’s pretty good, but I must admit that I often cannot find advanced, obscure words within. Still, a “college dictionary” is probably what you are seeking, as these are “1 step down” from an unabridged dictionary. I recommend researching on Amazon, but Merriam-Webster and Webster New World (different!) seem highly rated. You can also look here
Jim,