- Hardcover: 1686 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press; 10th Revised edition edition (1 Aug 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0198602596
- ISBN-13: 978-0198602590
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.4 x 6.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 118,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Anyone looking for a concise dictionary of English is currently faced with a difficult choice, since 2001 has seen the publication of new editions of three major works; the Concise Oxford Dictionary the Collins Concise Dictionary and the Encarta Concise Dictionary. All cover the same core material and at first sight seem much the same, giving definitions that place the most common sense first, guidance on such things as how formal or informal a word is and information on the origin of a word and when it first came into the language. However, a closer look at the text shows that they all have different strengths.
The Concise Oxford is the most grown up of the three. It saves space for other things by not giving pronunciation guidance for standard English vocabulary (such as "cheese") but only for words that might be difficult ("cheetah", "Chekhovian"). Instead it gives extra information on phrases, so that the reader does not have to search through "hard" for "hard cheese" is under "cheese". There is no major encyclopaedic element, although "Chekhovian" will give you the basic information on Chekhov, and there is an appendix giving information on countries of the world, as well as others on proof marks, weights and measures, different alphabets, abbreviations used in texting and an extensive guide to good English. This is the only one of the three to give good coverage of obsolete words, and is particularly strong on science and foreign words used in English. --Julia Cresswell --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Amazon.co.uk Review
Dictionary [Oxford, Concise] n. a book that lists the words of a language in alphabetical order and gives their meaning, or their equivalent in a different language. Oxford n. a type of lace-up shoe with a low heel. Origin C19th: named after the city of Oxford. Concise adj. giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words.Compiled from the world's biggest language research programme, Oxford lexicographers have rewritten all 220,000 entries in the latest and greatest edition of The Concise Oxford English Dictionary. The very first edition of this dictionary, published in 1911, drew on the content and method of Editor James Murray's revolutionary lifework, the Oxford English Dictionary, the vivid history of which is captured in Simon Winchester's bestselling linguistic detective story of words, murder and madness, The Surgeon of Crowthorne:
"Other dictionaries in other languages took longer to make; but none was greater, grander or had more authority than this. The greatest effort since the invention of printing. The longest sensational serial ever written."As its name suggests, the Concise Oxford Dictionary provides a streamlined compendium of easily accessible edited highlights from its more cumbersome ancestor. Arduously edited from longhand submissions, a typewritten manuscript and handset on a letter press, the very first edition was a labour of love. Nearly a century later, this new tenth edition draws extensively on new technology--including the citation database of the Oxford World Reading Programme which houses approximately 50 million words--to present an inclusive reference guide to living, breathing English. In its own concise definition of its method:
"Each entry is built around the core sense or senses of the word in current English, as based on rigorous analysis of large amounts of real, modern evidence available in computerized form."
So no need to scrabble for other dictionaries, this is the last word in quick authoritative reference, and a lexical luxury for etymologists. --Rachel Holmes
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The dictionary is very straightforward to use, as all dictionaries. However, it is guaranteed that you will find the word you're looking for in this one. Perfect for nearly anyone, even English students and enthusiasts!
Searching is very easy, the words are in clear bold writing and the explanations given are written in simple plain english.
Also contains all the acronyms you'll ever need.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Effective use of bold typeface for the keywords, bullet-points and arrow symbols, combined with a small but significant indentation of the decriptive text make this dictionary very easy to the eye.
The top of each page nearest the edge shows not only the first word on that page but also the last. This helps to quickly locate the desired word.
Although I don't usually find the International Phonetic Alphabet easy to use for finding the correct pronunciation of a word (because I can't remember the meaning of the symbols used) this book significantly helps by providing a listing of the symbols and their corresponding sounds at the bottom of each page. Vowels are shown on one pair of facing pages, consonants on the next, repeated throughout the whole dictionary.
Concise usage and origin definitions add to the book's usefulness and browsability.
In summary, an excellent dictionary that will become my default reference book.
9 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have always had a fascination with words and all their meanings and connotations. The Oxford Dictionary tells you a word's root, phonetical soundings (very useful if you do not know how to pronounce it!) and all their various meanings. This is a must for all homes.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
