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I miss the OED. I consulted it in my parents’ house as a teenager, and ever since I have been too lazy or cheap to acquire a copy, whether paper or otherwise. B

I miss the OED. I consulted it in my parents’ house as a teenager, and ever since I have been too lazy or cheap to acquire a copy, whether paper or otherwise. Basically I want an electronic copy, but $295 annual subscription seems steep compared to the price of paper copies ($50 it looks like). It hardly needs saying that the dictionaries freely available online are not adequate replacements.

lukev 9y ago
To be fair what you get with the $295 subscription is the _full_ OED, including all the expanded etymologies, which is 20 volumes and seems to sell for $1000.
- Nition 9y ago
  I used to use a a bit when I was at University and they had a subscription. Having etymologies for all the words is really interesting. And it's certainly a lot more thorough than the free online dictionaries. Unfortunately it's one of those things where the free version is "good enough", so most people won't pay for the improved version. Especially at $295/yr.
aethertap 9y ago
I have the full 20-ish volume print edition, which is fun to peruse sometimes if you have the shelf space for it. I got mine used for somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 on ebay, so you might check there.
- coatmatter 9y ago
  I've heard about the existence of the full volume, but to date I don't think I've ever seen nor laid hands on it (if I've seen it, I think I would have remembered browsing it). I have a feeling that most people who speak English as their primary language won't even be aware of its existence. The Encyclopædia Britannica is the only thing I've (slightly) leafed through before I started really getting online. I remember its thin pages and dry reading compared to less formal encyclopedias. I even remember pining over advertisements of the CD/DVD set and thinking about whether it'd be better to connect to the internet at home, or get the DVD of Britannica.
  - twic 9y ago
    My mum has the compact edition, which is the full OED printed in tiny type: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Oxford-English-Dictionary/dp/0198612583 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Oxford-English-Dictionary/d... Yours in mildly wrecked condition for only 23 quid: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Dictionary-COMPLETE-SLIP-CASE-MAGNIFYING/dp/B009M5QPIA/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Dictionary-COMPLETE-SLIP-CA...
eulevik 9y ago
Your library may provide access to members. For example, State Library of New South Wales.
- pm215 9y ago
  Yes. Most UK libraries have a setup so that their members can use the online OED from anywhere on the internet (you just have to enter your library card number). It uses cookies so you don't have to log in every time you want to look up a word, so the user-experience can be very convenient. I have a firefox keyword search shortcut for it.
  - _emacsomancer_ 9y ago
    I'm fortunate in that my (US) University has a subscription, but unlucky in that they have a poorly implemented 2-factor authentication for EVERYthing connected to the University, whose cookies disappear after 12 hours.

lukev 9y ago

To be fair what you get with the $295 subscription is the _full_ OED, including all the expanded etymologies, which is 20 volumes and seems to sell for $1000.

Nition 9y ago
I used to use a a bit when I was at University and they had a subscription. Having etymologies for all the words is really interesting. And it's certainly a lot more thorough than the free online dictionaries. Unfortunately it's one of those things where the free version is "good enough", so most people won't pay for the improved version. Especially at $295/yr.

aethertap 9y ago

I have the full 20-ish volume print edition, which is fun to peruse sometimes if you have the shelf space for it. I got mine used for somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 on ebay, so you might check there.

coatmatter 9y ago
I've heard about the existence of the full volume, but to date I don't think I've ever seen nor laid hands on it (if I've seen it, I think I would have remembered browsing it). I have a feeling that most people who speak English as their primary language won't even be aware of its existence. The Encyclopædia Britannica is the only thing I've (slightly) leafed through before I started really getting online. I remember its thin pages and dry reading compared to less formal encyclopedias. I even remember pining over advertisements of the CD/DVD set and thinking about whether it'd be better to connect to the internet at home, or get the DVD of Britannica.
- twic 9y ago
  My mum has the compact edition, which is the full OED printed in tiny type: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Oxford-English-Dictionary/dp/0198612583 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Oxford-English-Dictionary/d... Yours in mildly wrecked condition for only 23 quid: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Dictionary-COMPLETE-SLIP-CASE-MAGNIFYING/dp/B009M5QPIA/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Dictionary-COMPLETE-SLIP-CA...

eulevik 9y ago

Your library may provide access to members. For example, State Library of New South Wales.

pm215 9y ago
Yes. Most UK libraries have a setup so that their members can use the online OED from anywhere on the internet (you just have to enter your library card number). It uses cookies so you don't have to log in every time you want to look up a word, so the user-experience can be very convenient. I have a firefox keyword search shortcut for it.
- _emacsomancer_ 9y ago
  I'm fortunate in that my (US) University has a subscription, but unlucky in that they have a poorly implemented 2-factor authentication for EVERYthing connected to the University, whose cookies disappear after 12 hours.