The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

~ Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries (Afterword)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This newly updated edition of America’s favorite dictionary features revised biographical and geographical entries as well as up-to-date charts and tables for topics such as world currencies and chemical elements. Among the 500 entries new to this update are Amber Alert, blogosphere, gravitino, halo effect, hawala, lycopene, malware, micropolis, proteome, Qi Gong, SARS, shout-out, speed dating, sudoku, Texas hold’em, text message, and wiki.

The renowned American Heritage® Usage Panel, a group of more than 200 distinguished writers, scholars, and scientists, offers advice on problems of grammar and style; engaging notes explain word histories and clarify differences among synonyms; thousands of quotations and example sentences show words in context; and elegant definitions are enhanced by 4,000 full-color photographs, drawings, and maps, making this one of the most readable dictionaries available anywhere.

This dictionary can also be purchased with a fully loadable Windows® / Mac® CD-ROM that contains the entire text of the updated Fourth Edition, 68,000 audio pronunciations, 1,000 full-color photographs and illustrations, and a college-level thesaurus with more than 260,000 synonyms. The CD-ROM has spell-check capability and can be used in conjunction with any Microsoft® Office application to get definitions at the click of a mouse.

About the Author

The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries and of other reference titles published by Houghton Mifflin Company are trained lexicographers with a varied array of interests and expertise. Most of the editors hold graduate degrees and have studied at least one foreign language. Several have degrees in linguistics or in the history of the English language. Others have degrees in science or sometimes other disciplines. All the editors familiarize themselves with the vocabulary in specific subject areas, collect materials on new developments and usage, and work in association with consultants to ensure that the content of our publications is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2112 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 4 edition (April 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618701729
• ISBN-13: 978-0618701728
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.8 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,268 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

218 of 226 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Dictionary, but the New Oxford American Dictionary is Better, July 7, 2007

By	Seven Octaves (Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

The American Heritage Dictionary is an excellent 1 volume dictionary, complete with the newest words, beautiful colorful design, and over 2,000 pages on all facets of the English language. I will compare this dictionary to the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD) as these are the two best 1-volume English dictionaries available.

In my opinion, the NOAD is clearly a better dictionary for reasons listed below. Generally, the NOAD's entries are longer and more detailed, hence the reader gets more information. The American Heritage definitions are almost too concise (usually too concise for my preference) although many people may prefer the shorter definitions. Each dictionary will have a number of lesser know words (and even some more common words) the other dictionary will not have (especially scientific words, geographical locations, and newer words), so one dictionary is not superior as far as having a significant amount of more entries. It appears to me the NOAD has more entries, but even if it doesn't, it is still a better dictionary.

Some comparisons of American Heritage Dictionary (2006) to the NOAD (New Oxford American Dictionary)(2004)

-The American Heritage 2,006 pages long A to Z, the NOAD is 1,959 pages A to Z. The American Heritage does not list anywhere that I can see how many entries it has. The NOAD says it has over 250,000 entries. The font of the American Heritage is smaller but it is just as easy to read as the NOAD's font. The NOAD uses 3 columns per page, the American Heritage uses 2.

-The American Heritage has some newer words not found in NOAD, such as Red state, Blue state, Sudoku, Texas hold'em, but don't get the idea though this makes it better than the NOAD. Here are some words (some relatively recent) the NOAD has that the American Heritage does not have: macarana (the dance), tamagotchi (the Japanese toy), October Surprise, Hamas (the militant Palestinian group), heat-seeking, (as a missile) tarte Tatin, solid south, spaceship earth.

-The American Heritage is visually more appealing with its 4.000 color pictures complete with a nice design layout. Although the NOAD lacks color, it has many effective illustrations, and it even devotes full pages to maps.

-A big advantage of the American Heritage is that it details some interesting etymological histories of about 400 common words. For instance the American Heritage dictionary gives a 13-line history on the word Kangaroo, explaining that it is not from an Aborigine meaning "I do not know," and then proceeds to explain the true history of the word. The American Heritage also has usage notes on over 750 synonyms, 100 notes on regionalisms, 500 notes on usage issues, and 50 notes on the social dimensions of some words.

-Although the NOAD does not give these selected, interesting word histories, overall the NOAD etymology is done much better than the American Heritage's etymology. The NOAD's etymological explanations are consistently more detailed, and it will frequently add a time frame when the word came into use, e.g. early 17th century (although it will not give specific years), something the American Heritage does not. The NOAD will give folk etymology of some words, and like the American Heritage will give notes on proper usage and help the reader/writer use the right word with synonyms.

-One huge advantage the NOAD has over the American Heritage is that it adds many, many more common word phrase origins associated with a word, including proverbs, clichés, etc. For instance the word `pie" n. the NOAD will list the phrases "as easy as pie" "as sweet as pie" "a slice of the pie" and "pie in the sky" (and giving definitions of each phrase) while the American Heritage just lists and defines "pie in the sky." The NOAD will also give the origin of a few phrases such as "flash in the pan" (from the failure of gunpowder to ignite properly to fire a gun). The American Heritage does none of this with its phrases, but note that the American Heritage Dictionary publishes a separate book on word phrase origins, which is probably the reason it places little emphasis on them in its main dictionary.

-The NOAD is superior in the biographical entries to the American Heritage. Each dictionary will have some people the other will not, but when they are similar, the NOAD almost always gives more information in a biographical entry. The NOAD is also superior in geographical entries. food entries, and political terms. The NOAD is also better at including entries one would normally find in an encyclopedia, for instance Tamil Tigers, Hammond Organ, Abby Road are in the NOAD, but not in the American Heritage.

-The NOAD is slightly better in giving information about nations of the world. The American Heritage's entries on nations is short and very basic, while the NOAD's, though not much longer, it will nevertheless give a better history of a country than the American Heritage will.

I love dictionaries, and in comparing these two dictionaries, the NOAD to me has its pulse on the English language more than the American Heritage. The American Heritage Dictionary however is still very good choice, but if I could take only one, it would be the NOAD. If you love words, you should get both to enjoy the variety each provides.

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mighty fine dictionary, February 15, 2007

By	Myth Man - See all my reviews

This past fall I sat in on a negotiations course at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and the professor (an extraordinarily creative and free-thinking fellow) recommended that students purchase this particular dictionary because it frequently provides etymological information about words in addition to definitions. I have many etymological dictionaries, but it's nice to have both the definition and a brief etymological note in the same dictionary. It's a classy looking dictionary and would be a great choice for any college or post-grad student. I'm into words -- I own about 30 or 40 different dictionaries (including the OED) so I have a fair basis for comparison. I'm enjoying the American Heritage Dictionary, and I hope if you buy one, you will enjoy it as much.

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Gets Even Better!, January 4, 2007

By	Robert R. Mendenhall "Bob" (Keene, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The fresh, full-color design, enhanced by 4,000 photographs, drawings, and maps in the 4th edition of this truly first-rate dictionary are a noticeable and welcome improvement. As always, of course, the definitions are precise and intelligible, with the most current or central meaning given first -- and the etymologies are excellent. My 3rd edition went home beside the chair where I read, and the 4th is now ensconced on my office desk, where it is used daily. "New and improved" is generally nothing more than a cliche when applied to most products, but the 4th edition of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is genuinely both.