Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: Amazon.co.uk: William R. Trumble, Angus Stevenson: Books

Review

"The Shorter is the Matterhorn to the great OED's Everest--elegant, awesome and marvelous to behold, differing only in size. A stupendous achievement."--Simon Winchester (author of The Professor and the Madman)
"The page design is clean and remarkably easy to read."--Publishers Weekly "The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary redefines hip."--The New York Post "Even at a fraction of its original bulk, the premier collection of English words manages to squeeze in over a third of the original's content,
including its hallmark: minute etymological details."--US News & World Reports
"In dictionary terms, the publication of The New Shorter OED is among the major events of the last half century."--Chicago Tribune
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

The Fifth Edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is a complete update of the most authoritative reference work for modern English. The text is based on the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary and, in fact, the Shorter manages more than one third of the coverage of the OED in one tenth of the size. The Fifth Edition contains more than half a million definitions in its 3792 pages. Its innovative design makes this vast amount of information easy to consult, and especially makes the fascinating illustrative quotations identifiable in their surrounding text . This new edition incorporates a complete vocabulary update with over 3,500 new words and meanings, and many new illustrative quotations from modern authors. In total there are over 83,000 illustrative quotations from 7,000 authors. There is extensive coverage of scientific and technical English as well as English from around the world. The Dictionary is written on historical principles: entries show the historical development of words by listing meanings chronologically and giving datings for the first use of each sense. All major words used in English after 1700, as well as all the words in Shakespeare, Milton, Spenser's Faerie Queene, and the King James Bible, are included; many rare and obsolete words are also defined. For scholars and those with a serious interest in the English language, the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is an unrivalled resource for the study of the development and use of Modern English. Publication history: The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary was envisaged from the beginning as an abridgement of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). 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, and C. T. Onions. The First Edition was published in 1933, in two volumes. The Second Edition (1936) contained about 3,000 revisions and additions. The Third Edition (1944) contained an appendix of addenda and corrigenda, and this edition was reprinted several times with corrections and additions, the most significant being in 1973, with enlarged addenda (now running to over 70 pages) and 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 and its Supplements. The New Shorter also included much material not yet published by OED. This Fifth Edition is an update of the New Shorter with thousands of new words. The title has changed to the original 'Shorter Oxford English Dictionary' to emphasize the link between this 2-volume dictionary and the original 20-volume OED.

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52 of 53 people found the following review helpful

Tremendous Tomes! 20 Dec 2003

By Sally-Anne

Format:Hardcover

When I say these tomes (yes, there are 2 of them: A - M and N - Z) are 'tremendous' I'm using the word in sense 1) "majestically impressive" and sense 2) "extremely large or good, very considerable or substantial, excellent; remarkable, extraordinary" - according to the definitions in tremendous tome N - Z. Following the definitions there's a grey box containing 2 illustrative quotations so there can be no doubt what the word means and in what sort of context it can be used. I wish I'd had the wit to make this purchase sooner. How have I ever managed without?

Just after it was delivered, the lunch-time news reader referred to a war of attrition. "Attrition". Now then, what does that mean? It's one of those words you hear from time to time and you think you have a good idea of what it means from the context of its use.

I looked it up in my old dictionary. It said: "n. gradual wearing down (war of attrition); friction, abrasion". Right ho. That's more or less what I thought it meant.

Then I looked it up in my new Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. It gave no fewer than FIVE definitions of the word and illustrative quotations for THREE of them. The first definition was theological and explained the difference between attrition and contrition. The next definition was medical. I won't quote them here because I wouldn't want to give the plot away. I'll just say that I have a very firm grasp of the meaning of the word "attrition" now.

I recommend this book. I know what I mean and I mean what I say when I say "I can't recommend this book highly enough".

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51 of 52 people found the following review helpful

The very best dictionary for most users 1 Jan 2005

By Budge Burgess TOP 500 REVIEWER

This is probably the definitive dictionary to find in popular use. The 20 volume Oxford English Dictionary sets the overall standard, but a 20 volume set is rarely going to be found outside a library. No, for the literate domestic user, for the professional writer, for anyone with a love of words, the "Shorter Oxford" is the gold standard in dictionaries.

'Shorter', in this instance, means two volumes and a CD-ROM. 'Shorter', in this instance, means that as well as comprehensive definitions of each word, you also get a history of the language - when was the word first recorded in use, examples of quotations, examples of changing usage, and even some pronunciation help from the CD-ROM.

The range of words included in the two volumes should more than satisfy anyone but the odd specialist scholar. There is a wide range of scientific words - including floccinaucinihilipilification, a word made famous by television quiz games a few years ago. There is extensive coverage of non-English English. You'll find recent additions to the language - 'Taliban', and 'Prozac', and 'Jedi'. You even get 'grassy knoll', 'road rage', 'snail mail', and 'text message'. These last four demonstrate how quickly words and phrases can be absorbed into everyday usage - and 'grassy knoll' reminds you that words don't just have a definition, they have a context.

It's here that the "Shorter Oxford" exerts its authority and establishes its pre-eminent role as the best dictionary available to the general public. It doesn't just provide sound definition - a lot of excellent dictionaries do that. The "Shorter Oxford" delivers an authoritative description and analysis of the word in context, going beyond comprehensive definition. If you love words, there is endless enjoyment in simply sitting reading this dictionary. I regularly pluck a volume off the shelf to check a meaning ... then find myself engrossed. Get a life? Try looking that up in the dictionary.

Not the cheapest of packages, but undoubtedly the best. This is the dictionary to which you should aspire. Beautifully printed (though you may find you need glasses to read the small print), highly accessible, fine quality paper (flimsy, yet very durable), and with that added cachet of gravitas and intellectual respectability which will impress visitors! Combining CD-ROM and books makes this a doubly useful package - the two volumes will not fit comfortably on your average desk-top, and certainly not in a drawer, but having the CD running while you write at your computer is very useful. A substantial package, not portable by any means, but solid and homely, and a treasure to own.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful

No need for any other English dictionary than this 30 July 2005

By "timfgmorgan"

The layout is fantastic and the dictionary is far easier to navigate than the standard monolingual dictionaries available in other languages (e.g. the German Duden, Dutch van Dale and Polish PWN).

The dictionary is wonderfully exhaustive and I have never failed to find a word I have looked for or a particular usage. The historical information is useful for determining whether a particular usage should be disallowed since it is now archaic (or for similar 'proof-reader' purposes); the number of scientific entries is reassuring, and the scientific explanations are easy to follow.

Definitions are in the simplest possible English and strikingly succinct.

The logic and clear-thinking of this superlative dictionary mean that no other dictionary is required for native English speakers.

For non-native English speakers, this is also fantastic, but could well be supplemented by any 'co-build' collocations dictionaries and/or dictionaries with margin notes on verbal usage (e.g. prepositional usage with particular verbs and types and number of objects taken).

This book is a joy.