A Guide to the "Oxford English Dictionary"

Which other dictionary contains 290,500 entries, 616,500 word forms, and two-and-a-half million quotations? The "Oxford English Dictionary" is regarded as "the greatest reference book ever written", and this guide provides an insight into the conventions and compilation of its Second Edition. Donna Lee Berg gives an analysis of the components of a typical entry: pronunciation; part of speech; labels indicating, for example, areas of origin or use; variants; etymology; the definition itself; and the supporting quotation paragraph. There are sections on special types of entries such as acronyms and proper names, the history of the Dictionary, and fascinating facts and figures: word with the most meanings - set (464); most quoted author - Shakespeare (29,142); earliest dated words - town & priest (both AD 601-4); S has 34,556 entries compared to X's 152.