Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: Sixth Edition (Hardcover)

~ William R. Trumble (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This latest (sixth edition) version of the Shorter (the full Oxford is 20 volumes) features 2,500 new words, including blogroll, cremains and crapola, but its real value is in its explanation of word origins and the distinguished examples of usage."--Seattle Times
"The big language book of the year."--William Safire, New York Times Magazine
"The one dictionary you ought to have."--Philadelphia Inquirer
"A browser's paradise....The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary remains the most reliable and certainly the most capacious of abridged dictionaries. Now with the CD-ROM thrown in, it is also the most convenient."--Edward Short, The American Spectator
"The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is an affordable and highly useful resource and continues to deliver the high quality one expects. The addition of the CD-ROM makes it very portable and convenient to use."--American Reference Books Annual
"Academic and public libraries that do not own the second edition of the OED or the fifth edition of the Shorter should purchase the sixth edition since it contains a significant portion of the OED's content. Libraries with comprehensive collections will want the Shorter even if they have the other works."--Booklist, starred review
"The Shorter OED continues to be a superb source of information for information on English words from 1700 forward, plus Shakespearean and biblical vocabulary....Recommended. All levels."--CHOICE

Product Description

Here is a new edition of the acclaimed Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, the first since 2002, updated, enlarged, and enlivened by new words, new definitions of old words, new illustrative quotations--and a new, fully customizable CD-ROM.
If the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is the mother of all dictionaries, the Shorter is its most accomplished offspring. At one-tenth the size of OED--and a fraction of the price--the Shorter offers one-third the content and the same quality of lexical excellence of its parent dictionary. Indeed, no other dictionary, apart from the OED itself, comes close to the Shorter's range and depth, offering over 500,000 definitions that cover virtually every word or phrase in use in English--worldwide--since 1700. Each entry offers everything you would expect from a leading unabridged dictionary: it identifies each word's various meanings, origins, part of speech, pronunciation, and combinations in which the word is often found, as well as cross-references to related words. The Shorter, however, offers something that no competitor can match: the historical, literary approach made justly famous by the OED. Thousand upon thousands of changing meanings are followed throughout history, illustrated by 85,000 quotations from 7,000 authors.

And now, with 2,500 new words and 500 new quotations, the Shorter is fresher than ever, fully responsive to ever-changing English language.
The Shorter Oxford Dictionary has opened its pages to the thousands of new words which have come into use since the previous edition and which have expanded the precision and expressive power of English. Here are such new words as Afrobeat, carbon-neutral, darknet, heaviosity, impactful, knuckle-dragger, nanomaterial, retro-futurist, smoosh, testosteronic, webinar, and thousands more. (To call someone a testosteronic, retro-futurist knuckle-dragger is no longer an incomprehensible insult).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 3888 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 6 edition (September 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199233241
• ISBN-13: 978-0199233243
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 10 x 6.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,176 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Print is Just Fine and So Is the App, September 25, 2007

By	B. Leach "Oldink" (Sherman Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am an older person (69, wear specs) and have no problem with the print in the sixth edition of this great dictionary. Yes, the print is smaller than that of the fifth edition, but the volume itself is also smaller, less poundage, allowing an (older) arm to lift the darn thing without mechanical help--say, a forklift. No problem at all with the print. One technical note for Mac users regarding the CD-ROM. Tech support at Oxford tells me that a patch is on the way, but as of 25 Sept. 2007 the installed SOED is inoperative on both my iMAC G5 and MacBook. So until that patch arrives I'll just have to use the real thing, not a bad idea anyway. A great dictionary.
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A year later now (October 2008) and I've just installed the update to the application version of this great dictionary. And I'm happy to report that it works well on both an iMac G5 and a new MacBook. Loads fast and word look-ups are instantaneous. Impressive improvements over the original application.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shorter Oxford English Dictionary Version 3.0 CD, October 19, 2007

By	Dwight Brown - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (CD-ROM)

This edition has almost everything of value which is in the BIG OED except the fuller treatment of word origins in the Mother of all Dictionaries.
It comes up quicker than the big edition, has all the flexibility of cross referencing. I keep an icon handy. In an uncertain world where value fades as prices rise, the OED stands firmly in the great tradition of British scholarship. If you love the English language, don't hesitate. It is worth twice the price. Dwight Brown

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very pleased with purchase, February 24, 2008

By	cybele (chicago, Il, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: Deluxe Sixth Edition (Hardcover)

I was looking for a dictionary of the English language for a very long time, not knowing what to buy, because of the diversity of publishers and editions. I'm not a specialist in the field, but I can say that this deluxe edition is very usefull for both students and professors, and it can make a very beautiful gift. the sixth edition takes in new terms from such productive areas as computing, communications, science, and slang while also casting new light on the history of English. They added quotations from authors and periodicals of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. There is an essay at the beginning of the dictionary "A brief history of English" by David Crystal which gives an overview of the development of the language from Old English to the 21st century. the dictionary is wery well bounded, the covers are made from a beautiful dark blue leather with golden inscriptions. the borders of the pages are also of gold colour. very nice and very well structured. very satisfied with it.