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The dictionaries the author starts with seem to be the concise dictionaries which are intended to be that way. I don't blame him since the full dictionaries (e.

by Youden 5y ago

The dictionaries the author starts with seem to be the concise dictionaries which are intended to be that way. I don't blame him since the full dictionaries (e.g. OED) are hidden behind paywalls but the full dictionaries are really, really good. The entry for "flash" in the OED for example contains literary examples of the kind the author seems to want, like "red the gaze that flashes desolation". The OED also includes several senses of the word and its etymology. The OED costs $100/year for US residents or £100/year for everyone else [0] but you can often get access through a library. The San Francisco Public Library has a proxy you can use if you have a library card there [1]. [0]: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/oxford-english-dictionary-online-9780198605553?q=oxford%20english%20dictionary%20online&lang=en&cc=gb https://global.oup.com/academic/product/oxford-english-dicti... [1]: http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.sfpl.org http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.sfpl.org

kragen 5y ago
Also I scanned the OED and put it on the Internet Archive so everyone can access it for free and build on it. The whole thing is in the public domain now, at least in the US, though of course not the second and third editions.
- janandonly 5y ago
  That must have been a gargantuan task..
  - kragen 5y ago
    It took me about a month (thanks to the Archive for lending me the machinery!) but that was mostly because I kept getting distracted by reading the damned thing. If I'd had greater discipline, I would have missed out on a very pleasant month of evenings reading the OED and listening to the Crash Test Dummies, but I probably would have been able to finish in a week, and then I would have been much better prepared for moving out of my house and into a Volkswagen Vanagon.
stavros 5y ago
This is a bit off topic, but why do I need a subscription to access a dictionary? How often should I be expecting the language to change? Not to mention that the UX got much worse since the 90s, when I had a program on my desktop to instantly look up words.
- Veen 5y ago
  The OED is a historical dictionary that records over 1000 years of the language's development. It aims to be a complete dictionary of the English language from its origins to today. It frequently adds new entries and new examples of older words. I don't know that £100 per year is a reasonable price, but it's not an inexpensive endeavour to run; it employs many lexicographers. Most people don't need the full OED and should probably just buy one of the smaller Oxford dictionaries. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary is an excellent single-volume dictionary of modern English based on the Oxford Dictionary of English (which is not the same as the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED is a historical dictionary, while the ODE is a dictionary of contemporary English).
  - stavros 5y ago
    Ah I see, I didn't know the two were distinct, thank you.
- pm215 5y ago
  Language changes slowly but constantly: words evolve new sentences, new phrases are coined, others become less current. The OED is so big that the only practical way to revise it is continuously, a few entries at a time. Every quarter there are hundreds of changes: https://public.oed.com/updates/ https://public.oed.com/updates/ . As with software, it turns out that financing a product that needs continuous updates is more effectively done with a subscription than by selling products as one-off transactions. (FWIW the print version of the 2nd edition OED is 20 volumes and is listed on the OED site at 860 quid.)
shever73 5y ago
I’m happy to see this comment here. The OED is a wonderful resource and, as mentioned, can often be accessed via a library membership. I just need to enter my Dublin library card number and I get full, free access. Another great writing resource is etymonline.com, which gives a bare definition along with a full etymology drawn from different sources.
Veen 5y ago
One of my favourite possessions is the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, which is the full 20 volume OED microprinted into 2 large volumes. It comes in a case with a magnifying glass. It's too unwieldy for everyday use, but it's a pleasure to browse through it.
pm215 5y ago
If you're in the UK then many public libraries have subscriptions to the OED which include "remote access". This means you can log in from anywhere just by putting your library card number into the OED's login form. So check that before signing up for a hundred quid a year :-)
- Vrondi 5y ago
  This is also true for many colleges & universities in the USA. If you have any university affiliation, check with your university library system first.

by Youden 5y ago

kragen 5y ago

Also I scanned the OED and put it on the Internet Archive so everyone can access it for free and build on it. The whole thing is in the public domain now, at least in the US, though of course not the second and third editions.

janandonly 5y ago
That must have been a gargantuan task..
- kragen 5y ago
  It took me about a month (thanks to the Archive for lending me the machinery!) but that was mostly because I kept getting distracted by reading the damned thing. If I'd had greater discipline, I would have missed out on a very pleasant month of evenings reading the OED and listening to the Crash Test Dummies, but I probably would have been able to finish in a week, and then I would have been much better prepared for moving out of my house and into a Volkswagen Vanagon.

stavros 5y ago

This is a bit off topic, but why do I need a subscription to access a dictionary? How often should I be expecting the language to change? Not to mention that the UX got much worse since the 90s, when I had a program on my desktop to instantly look up words.

Veen 5y ago
The OED is a historical dictionary that records over 1000 years of the language's development. It aims to be a complete dictionary of the English language from its origins to today. It frequently adds new entries and new examples of older words. I don't know that £100 per year is a reasonable price, but it's not an inexpensive endeavour to run; it employs many lexicographers. Most people don't need the full OED and should probably just buy one of the smaller Oxford dictionaries. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary is an excellent single-volume dictionary of modern English based on the Oxford Dictionary of English (which is not the same as the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED is a historical dictionary, while the ODE is a dictionary of contemporary English).
- stavros 5y ago
  Ah I see, I didn't know the two were distinct, thank you.
pm215 5y ago
Language changes slowly but constantly: words evolve new sentences, new phrases are coined, others become less current. The OED is so big that the only practical way to revise it is continuously, a few entries at a time. Every quarter there are hundreds of changes: https://public.oed.com/updates/ https://public.oed.com/updates/ . As with software, it turns out that financing a product that needs continuous updates is more effectively done with a subscription than by selling products as one-off transactions. (FWIW the print version of the 2nd edition OED is 20 volumes and is listed on the OED site at 860 quid.)

shever73 5y ago

I’m happy to see this comment here. The OED is a wonderful resource and, as mentioned, can often be accessed via a library membership. I just need to enter my Dublin library card number and I get full, free access. Another great writing resource is etymonline.com, which gives a bare definition along with a full etymology drawn from different sources.

Veen 5y ago

One of my favourite possessions is the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, which is the full 20 volume OED microprinted into 2 large volumes. It comes in a case with a magnifying glass. It's too unwieldy for everyday use, but it's a pleasure to browse through it.

pm215 5y ago

If you're in the UK then many public libraries have subscriptions to the OED which include "remote access". This means you can log in from anywhere just by putting your library card number into the OED's login form. So check that before signing up for a hundred quid a year :-)

Vrondi 5y ago
This is also true for many colleges & universities in the USA. If you have any university affiliation, check with your university library system first.