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AHD > M-WD > OED; Digital Dictionaries.
Topic Started: Jul 28 2011, 11:02 PM (241 Views)
Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
I'm not too crazy about electronic books (yet), and I don't use too many reference materials; I don't believe in thesauri. But I do think that having a whole unabridged dictionary on a device the size of a credit card is mighty handy.

But which dictionary should I get? Isn't it obvious that OED is best?

Not to me. I believe there are too many differences between American and British to justify me using an OED, and they favor the latter. Also, I noticed that they tend to focus (almost obsess) on latin roots, and don't really explore Indo-European as much as I think they could. Third, their references are almost always legal or academic, seldom literary. There's nothing wrong with any of this, it's just not the information I'm looking for.

I appreciate all the work Merriam-Webster put into theirs, especially the initial reforms made, but there's just one catch: they sold out. Their entry criteria now favors descriptive definitions (how words are actually used) rather than prescriptive (how they should be used). It's because of them that w00t is now in the dictionary.

So if you're looking for a more snobby conservative, yet distinctly American unabridged dictionary that has a more comprehensive etymology, where does one turn?

Enter American Heritage! It was actually a direct response to the drastic changes in selection found in Merriam-Webster's Third International. Houghton Mifflin tried to buy up the company and when that didn't work, they made their own text.

This thing is great. With the more standard words there are the etymology notes and all the usual stuff, but for more questionable entries it uses a panel of hundreds of experts in various fields that "demand sensitive vocabulary." Not only do some of the entries tell you the breakdown of the panel's opinions, they track the changes in opinion over time. This allows you to make up your own mind about usage using the best information available, which I believe is the best way to go.

Here's a sample entry:

Quote:
 
prove (pro͞ov)
v. proved, proved or prov•en (pro͞o′vən), prov•ing, proves
v. tr.
1. To establish the truth or validity of by presentation of argument or evidence.
2. Law To establish the authenticity of (a will).
3. To determine the quality of by testing; try out.
...
Middle English "proven," from Old French "prover," and Latin "probare" : to test. Also "probus," for good. See "per-" in Indo-European roots.
...
Usage Note: Prove has two past participles: proved and proven. Proved is the older form. Proven is a variant. The Middle English spellings of prove included preven, a form that died out in England but survived in Scotland, and the past participle proven, a form that probably rose by analogy with verbs like weave, woven and cleave, cloven. Proven was originally used in Scottish legal contexts, such as The jury ruled that the charges were not proven. In the 20th century, proven has made inroads into the territory once dominated by proved, so that now the two forms compete on equal footing as participles. However, when used as an adjective before a noun, proven is now the more common word: a proven talent.


Great, comprehensive resource. And the app version has all the features you'd expect: hotlinks everywhere, offline dictionary with online pronounciations, color-coded, lots of great articles and a ton of different bookmark features.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
I think that OED is still the academic standard (I generally wouldn't footnote anything else) but I think OED has been slipping and trying too hard to be relevant : <3 is now declared a verb? FFS!
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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jon-nyc
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Cheers
stfu, n00bs.
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
ivorythumper
Jul 29 2011, 12:30 AM
I think that OED is still the academic standard (I generally wouldn't footnote anything else) but I think OED has been slipping and trying too hard to be relevant : <3 is now declared a verb? FFS!
It is, and rightly so, considering their source material is almost strictly academic. My only objective beef with OED is that it tries to rely too much on its own hype for authority. The other issues are just personal preference. I was looking for something that favors American usage, is still prescriptive in nature and gives adequate etymology information. M-W is a massive fail for that second one.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
jon-nyc
Jul 29 2011, 01:29 AM
stfu, n00bs.
zomg. urded.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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apple
one of the angels
urded?
it behooves me to behold
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apple
one of the angels
I have 2 or 3 hard copies of the Oxford dictionary.. way too heavy. I like to read 'heavy' etomology and when I look up a word it is sure to be obscure and often not in a college dictionary. I have 4 dictionaries bookmarked and sometimes have to look thru all 4. I like the rhymezone link for rhymes and synonyms.. still it's a bit collegiate. I won't subscribe but would if I were rich. (don't carry digital stuff).
it behooves me to behold
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
apple
Jul 29 2011, 04:53 AM
I have 2 or 3 hard copies of the Oxford dictionary.. way too heavy. I like to read 'heavy' etomology and when I look up a word it is sure to be obscure and often not in a college dictionary. I have 4 dictionaries bookmarked and sometimes have to look thru all 4. I like the rhymezone link for rhymes and synonyms.. still it's a bit collegiate. I won't subscribe but would if I were rich. (don't carry digital stuff).
Yeah, differing opinions about stuff like that. I know a lot of people use them but I see them as a crutch, and anyway the first word that comes to mind is usually best, fancy or no. I want my thoughts, not a reference guide, to dictate my words.

But people vary. One of the lecturers here swears by keeping a thesaurus handy while writing.

I use the dictionary primarily to double-check myself, or if I'm curious about a partucular word. Then there's always the online Middle English dictionary if you REALLY wanna go down the rabbit hole.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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sue
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HOLY CARP!!!
Thanks, Aqua. That's really interesting to hear.
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