Customer Reviews

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This paperback was a major disappointment. I already have excellent hardback dictionaries, including the Collegiate version. But this version doesn't come close the Collegiate, and may not even be resourceful for eighth graders. The book struck out on the first of three inquiries. A closer look revealed polysyllabic words are few, and less common words are rare. If you're looking for a lightweight paperback to supplement your other resources, this dictionary is NOT it.

For instance, I can not find "COSSET" in this paper back dictionary and "BOGGLE" is only explained as "to overwhelm or to be overwhelmed by fright". So it's a pity that when I usaually use this dictionary, I have to use a heavier dictionary to look up such words as "COSSET" and "BOGGLE". After all, this dictionary is a suitable one for common use. I expect that it could diminish the differenc with its HOME and OFFICE Edition. M-Webster should not make this dictionary more like a pocket and simple one. Thank you!

The best pocket-sized, paperback dictionary of American English. With 70,000 words, this dictionary abridges the 215,000-word "Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary" (which, in turn, abridges the 445,000-word "Webster's Third New International Dictionary Unabridged"). The name "Webster's" long ago passed into the public domain, but these three dictionaries--and the Merriam-Webster brand--are the lineal descendants of Noah Webster's original nineteenth-century dictionaries, the first dictionaries of American English, which have been in print continuously for almost two centuries.

I keep this paperback handy on my desk for ready reference (along with a thesaurus, a style manual, and a usage dictionary). On the shelf nearby, I keep a more extensive basic reference set, including the heftier hardbound "Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary," of which this paperback version is a subset. This dictionary is highly abridged, thus not the most appropriate reference if you are looking for a word's detailed etymology, for an obscure word, or for thoroughness. But when writing for a nonliterary audience, when clear and simple communication is the goal, this book is a good check against writing that is getting too high and mighty. If a word does not appear here, I think twice about using it, keeping in mind the Fowler brothers' first "general principle" of good writing: "Prefer the familiar word to the far-fetched."

If you are buying one and only one dictionary, go with the hardbound "Collegiate Dictionary": it is more complete, yet stays within the realm of familiar words. But if you can manage, I recommend stocking both that dictionary and this one. Keep the hardbound version on the shelf, within reach, and consult it as necessary; but keep this one at your fingertips, and consult it routinely.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary continues the fine tradition of dictionaries being the only books containing all (or an abridged portion, in this case) of the words in a particular language (here, English). From "aardvark" to "zytol", you can find it here.

The style of writing takes some getting used to. Merriam and Webster use a kind of stop-and-go, highly punctuated style of writing that makes the reader stop and think about each element and its place in the work as a whole. Some things about the book are mildly confusing, such as the fact that new characters are introduced at the rate of 30-50 per page, all the way through the book. Some of them are complex, like "Pneumoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis", while others are common and transparent, like "the". All the characters come together in the end to form an amazingly realistic portrait of the living organism known as the English language.

I don't want to spoil the plot, but Merriam and Webster have done some amazing things with explaining words using other words, and also with incorporating every known word in the english language in the style of past dictionarial masters. A can't-stop journey from start to finish, for sure.