- Paperback: 1888 pages
- Publisher: Collins; Standard Sixth edition edition (7 July 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007109822
- ISBN-13: 978-0007109821
- Product Dimensions: 28.4 x 22.4 x 7.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 556,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Collins English Dictionary has evolved into a glorious great slab of a reference book since its relatively modest first appearance in 1979. The 2003 version, rooted in the Bank of English, a 524-million word database launched in 1991, is the sixth edition.
Strong on clear definitions, derivations, cross-referencing, acronyms, technical and scientific terms and geographical place names, Collins English Dictionary also includes occasional boxed "language notes". Thus, for example, after "mitigate" we are usefully reminded that "Mitigate is sometimes used where militate is meant: 'His behaviour militates (not mitigates) against his chances of promotion.'" Interestingly, users of English are evidently becoming more relaxed about their language. Seventy words previously deemed taboo, including "arse," "crap" and "wank" are now described merely as slang. Perhaps rows of asterisks will soon be a thing of the past. Language changes continually and so do attitudes to it. There is a distinct sense of celebration in the latest Collins English Dictionary because English is one of the richest and most diverse of the world's languages and it is rapidly becoming a global lingua franca.
Jeremy Butterfield and his colleagues have made a splendid job of recording exactly where English is now. We may need to know what a "sex text" or a "dead-cat bounce" is today but, perhaps, in the quite near future such terms will fall out of use. That's why dictionaries need to be continuously updated, leaving earlier editions as reference works for language historians to study. It's also what makes dictionaries in general and Collins English Dictionary in particular so fascinating and why word lovers need the latest version on their shelves. --Susan Elkin
Review
"wonderful coverage of current English ! the layout is appealing to the read" reader review on amazon.co.uk "The best single-volume English dictionary ! the typefaces used are the most attractive of any dictionary" reader review on amazon.co.uk
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
84 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best single-volume English dictionary,
This review is from: Collins English Dictionary (Hardcover)
The eighth edition of the Collins English Dictionary is a hefty single-volume hardback. For the first time contains colour inside (blue for the words being defined, black for the definitions). The typefaces used (Collins Fedra Sans and Fedra Serif) are the most attractive of any dictionary.
In terms of the substance, there is little difference between the Collins and The Oxford Dictionary of English, but the Collins dictionary is more aesthetically pleasing. Both The Penguin English Dictionary and The Chambers Dictionary are good dictionaries, but it is worth bearing in mind that the Penguin contains fewer words than the others mentioned here (though it is less expensive) and the definitions in the Chambers Dictionary are less clearly laid out than in the other dictionaries.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive and Profound,
By
This review is from: Collins English Dictionary (Hardcover)
This is the best English dictionary one can buy for complex and obscure words and always has those rare and obsolete words one finds in Victorian novels that seem, so often, to escape the Oxford. I do the : 'Guardian;' 'Times;' and 'Telegraph;' Crosswords and will nearly always find words in this Dictionary that unfortunately, again, escape the Oxford. New editions assimilate much of modern language so that one has a contemporaneous and historical literary blend that will satisfy most requirements from the most basic, common reader to the specialist, esoteric academic.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My new best pal!,
By
This review is from: Collins English Dictionary (Hardcover)
This is The Daddy! I compared this with Oxford, Chambers and Penguin and for me it came out a clear winner. Very clear and includes all those obscure words that the others overlook. It's great value at this price and eats crosswords for breakfast. Just don't drop it on your foot!
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