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Encarta World English Dictionary (Hardcover)

~ Anne Soukhanov (Editor)

3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

English doesn't belong to England--or any other country--any more. It's a global language now, a lingua franca with over 1.5 billion speakers, readers, and writers, so it's about time our reference shelves caught up with reality. The Encarta World English Dictionary, spawn of the popular Microsoft CD-ROM and Internet reference products, covers this new development in the language thoroughly and efficiently, creating a reference tool for anyone hooked into the new global culture. From the basics (American, British, Australian) to the fringes of English distribution in Africa and Asia, the Encarta staff track variant spellings, meanings, and pronunciations in over 100,000 entries comprising some 3.5 million words. If, for example, your Asian correspondent asks you for your "biodata," you can quickly and painlessly learn that she needs your résumé.

Its streamlined entry style emphasizes quick absorption of each word's meaning; still, browsers and researchers are rewarded with etymological and lexicographical information rivaling that found in its competitors. Over 3,000 black-and-white illustrations and 10,000 biographical and geographical entries spanning the centuries (from Gerry Adams to Zoroaster) round out the dictionary and provide depth. With all these features, Encarta World English Dictionary lives up to its promise as a reference tool for our postmodern one-world future. --Rob Lightner

From Library Journal

Lexicographer Soukhanov, "Word Watch" columnist for the Atlantic Monthly and former editor of The American Heritage Dictionaly, draws on the resources of MicrosoftR EncartaR to produce what is being touted as the first new dictionary in 30 years. Arranged letter by letter, it contains over 100,000 headwords, including 10,000 biographical and geographical entries. Each entry includes syllabication, pronunciation (with the pronunciation key across the bottom of the double-spread pages), inflections (tenses, forms of adjectives, and irregular plurals), part of speech, etymologies, and, sometimes, quotations illustrating the use of the word. The different meanings are arranged with the most commonly used senses appearing early in the definition and the less frequently used ones toward the end. The dictionary also includes a useful feature called "quick definitions"Aa brief summary set in small capitals at the beginning of the definition. Another interesting facet is the inclusion of English-language words from countries besides England and the United States. According to Soukhanov, this is "the first dictionary bringing together not only the two main spelling forms of the language (American English and British English) but also all the other main varieties of our language, from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Rim." Compared to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (1998. 10th ed.), this dictionary is small, but it includes terms not found in Merriam-Webster's, such as "DVD" and the Australian "barbie." For this reason, it is recommended for most libraries as a useful tool for patrons looking for words just recently finding their way into our language.
-ACynthia A. Johnson, Barnard Coll. Lib., New York
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 2078 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (August 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031222222X
ISBN-13: 978-0312222222
Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.9 x 2.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 6 pounds

Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #469,365 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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	72% buy the item featured on this page: Encarta World English Dictionary 3.4 out of 5 stars (48)
	13% buy Encarta Webster's Dictionary of the English Language: Second Edition 5.0 out of 5 stars (2) $36.50
	8% buy Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary: The First Dictionary For The Internet Age 4.3 out of 5 stars (7)
	4% buy Webster's New World Student's Dictionary 4.9 out of 5 stars (10) $13.57

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Customer Reviews

48 Reviews

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3.4 out of 5 stars (48 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a world dictionary as international meanings are missing, October 4, 1999

By A Customer

I recently purchased the Encarta World Dictionary, but was disappointed to find that it was not as innovative as I thought it might be. Although it does cover a lot of new words that have come into the English language recently, more established words words have not been given much attention. Take the word marquee: Encarta's definition is "The canopy projecting out over the entrance to a large building, such as a hotel or theater". This is a definition most older dictionaries will give you. I think a more popular definition today would be "An internally illuminated sign outside a hotel or theater". The second meaning of marquee, "A vary large tent with straight sides that can be rolled up and removed, used for large gatherings" is the British English definition, but no mention of that fact is made. The British meaning of the verg "to slate" which is to criticize in the U.K. is not mentioned at all, nor is the Australian meaning of the word veranda. In Australia a veranda means a permanent awning projecting over the sidewalk for protection from the elements. In my mind Encarta cannot claim to be a world dictionary unless it includes these meanings. Encarta is well laid out and easy to read, but for my mind doesn't compete with the OED or Divided by a Common Language. (Great for finding out what's British and what's American).

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41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Apples and Oranges, February 27, 2000

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Encarta World English Dictionary

I own a number of dictionaries and consult most of them every day. Each has its limitations. All are necessary to my work. These self-references are shared inorder to suggest that the Encarta World Dictionary will be praised by some, reviled by others. Given its substantial cost, you are urged to (a) determine precisely what your needs are and then (b) determine to what extent Encarta fills most (if not all) of those needs. It was a welcome addition to my personal library. I refer to it almost every day. When evaluating a dictionary such as this, how important is the total number of words? This one offers comparably fewer than others in its price range. How important are the origins of words? I prefer other sources such as John Ayto's Dictionary of Word Origins. How important is historical (especially biographical) material? In this area, I rate the Encarta adequate. How current do you require a dictionary to be? None other in its price range is more current. How important to you is the nomenclature of the Internet and WWW? There are far better sources if that is your primary reference need. No dictionary of this scale can be everything to everyone. I rate it as highly as I do because of its practical value to me. Also, because it is aesthetically pleasing. I again urge you to determine what you need from a dictionary. Examine the Encarta carefully and then judge for yourself.

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55 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor Idea, Poor Execution, Poor Results, October 26, 1999

By A Customer

In response to some other reviews here, a few quick things. First off, this sadly isn't a "full-sized dictionary." By including an excess of modern techno-slang ("alot of "hip" words" one reader writes) and utilizing a far larger typeface, this dictionary succeeds in achieving the same apparent size of many other dictionaries, while containing approximately half as many words, many of which are entries like "LOL," an abbreviation I for my part haven't had to look up recently. This is the reason for the creation of Slang Dictionaries. I have nothing agaisnt the inclusion of commonly used words or phrases in a dictionary, but at the expense of words that one might actually look up one day, it is a deplorable practice. Furthermore, nearly all etymological explanations have been removed, relegated to infrequent "Word Key" boxes. Microsoft has truly created, to quote suck.com, the world's first Dictionary for Dummies, and I detest it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars my favorite dictionary
I think this is the best dicitionary ever. It has a lot of entries, but the definitions are simple, and not explained with other words that you don't know. Read more

Published on January 3, 2007 by Lara Lange

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one I liked the best
I wanted a good dictionary for our household, not for professional reasons. I read many editorial reviews and user comments on amazon. Read more

Published on December 6, 2004 by R. Wood

5.0 out of 5 stars My ENCARTA Dictionaries
I purchased a copy of this dictionary about 5 months ago. My passion is studying the roots of words as well as the multi meanings of the words (semantics). Read more

Published on November 9, 2001 by sam Ghezavat

4.0 out of 5 stars User friendly and of a nice size
The definitions were easy to understand....Not like some dictionaries where you have to look up the words in the definitions.

Published on July 19, 2001 by sugarplumber

4.0 out of 5 stars Best deal for the reduced price
At under (price)..., this is a good buy. I have read many of the reviews here, and the various criticisms of the dictionary's shortcomings are no doubt valid, but it has its good... Read more

Published on July 8, 2001 by pm444

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the purchase price
This dictionary was given to me recently by a well-meaning relative; it seems that it has already been sent to the deep discount bin of her local mega bookstore. Read more

Published on December 12, 2000

1.0 out of 5 stars By no means a World English dictionary
Other reviewers have identified with great clarity other shortcomings of this dictionary so I will focus on just one: the claim to be a "world english" dictionary is... Read more

Published on August 29, 2000 by Carl Zetie

5.0 out of 5 stars A modern dictionary
...I was at first very skeptical of the value of the EncartaDictionary; especially after reading some of the reviews.

I took a gamble and purchased the Encarta. Read more

Published on August 29, 2000 by Marvin R. Weatherly

2.0 out of 5 stars Not such a "world" dictionary
I recently purchased the Encarta World Dictionary, but was disappointed to find that it was not as innovative as I thought it might be. Read more

Published on January 9, 2000

1.0 out of 5 stars CAVEAT EMPTOR!
What kind of dictionary would give entries for three large moons of Jupiter (Ganymede, Callisto, Io) but not the fourth (Europa)? Read more

Published on December 30, 1999

› See all 48 customer reviews...

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