Orin Hargraves
Encyclopedia
Orin Hargraves is an American
lexicographer and writer. His language reference works include Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions: Making Sense of Transatlantic English (Oxford University Press
, 2002), Slang Rules!: A Practical Guide for English Learners (Merriam-Webster
, 2008), and (with Willard Espy) Words to Rhyme With: A Rhyming Dictionary (2nd edition; Facts on File, 2006). In addition he has contributed definitions and other material to dictionaries and other language reference works issued by Oxford University Press
, Cambridge University Press
, Longman
, Macmillan
, HarperCollins
, Chambers Harrap
, Langenscheidt
, Berlitz
, Scholastic Corporation, and Merriam-Webster
, among others.
. He spent most of his childhood in Creede, Colorado
and graduated with honors from the University of Chicago
in 1977, concentrating in philosophy, language and literature. He served in the U.S. Peace Corps
in Morocco
where he taught English in a government lycée. Later he worked in the publishing software industry in Chicago and London. He began his career in lexicography in 1991 in London. He joined the Dictionary Society of North America
in 1993 and was elected its vice president/president elect in 2009. He now resides in Carroll County, Maryland.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lexicographer and writer. His language reference works include Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions: Making Sense of Transatlantic English (Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2002), Slang Rules!: A Practical Guide for English Learners (Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster
Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
, 2008), and (with Willard Espy) Words to Rhyme With: A Rhyming Dictionary (2nd edition; Facts on File, 2006). In addition he has contributed definitions and other material to dictionaries and other language reference works issued by Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, Longman
Longman
Longman was a publishing company founded in London, England in 1724. It is now an imprint of Pearson Education.-Beginnings:The Longman company was founded by Thomas Longman , the son of Ezekiel Longman , a gentleman of Bristol. Thomas was apprenticed in 1716 to John Osborn, a London bookseller, and...
, Macmillan
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, also known as MEDAL, was first published in 2002 by Macmillan Education. MEDAL is an advanced learner’s dictionary and shares most of the features of this type of dictionary: it provides definitions in simple language, using a controlled defining...
, HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, Chambers Harrap
Chambers Harrap
Chambers Harrap Publishers is a reference publisher formerly based in Edinburgh, Scotland, which held the property rights of the venerable W.R.Chambers Publishers and its competitor George G. Harrap and Company .-History of Chambers:Chambers was founded as "W. & R...
, Langenscheidt
Langenscheidt
Langenscheidt is a privately held German publishing company, specialising in language resource literature. As well as producing monolingual dictionaries, Langenscheidt also produces bilingual dictionaries and travel phrase-books, as well as maps and atlases....
, Berlitz
Berlitz
Berlitz can refer to:* The Berlitz Corporation, formerly Berlitz International* Maximilian Berlitz, founder of the Berlitz Language Schools* Charles Berlitz, grandson of Maximilian Berlitz and author of several Bermuda Triangle related books...
, Scholastic Corporation, and Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster
Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
, among others.
Biography
Orin Knight Hargraves was born September 14, 1953 in Denver, ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. He spent most of his childhood in Creede, Colorado
Creede, Colorado
The historic town of Creede is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Mineral County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 377 at the U.S. Census 2000.-History:...
and graduated with honors from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1977, concentrating in philosophy, language and literature. He served in the U.S. Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
where he taught English in a government lycée. Later he worked in the publishing software industry in Chicago and London. He began his career in lexicography in 1991 in London. He joined the Dictionary Society of North America
Dictionary society of north america
The Dictionary Society of North America was founded in 1975 to encourage scholarly and professional activities that have to do with dictionaries and lexicography...
in 1993 and was elected its vice president/president elect in 2009. He now resides in Carroll County, Maryland.
Language Reference
- Slang Rules!: A Practical Guide for English Learners (2008) (ISBN 0-8777-9682-3)
- The Big Book of Spelling Tests (2007) (ISBN 1-5791-2696-0)
- Spell It! (study guide for the Scripps National Spelling Bee (2006-8)
- Words to Rhyme With: A Rhyming Dictionary (co-author with Willard Espy) (2006)(ISBN 0-8160-6304-4)
- New Words (Editor) (2004)(ISBN 0-1951-7282-5)
- Cucurbits (article in English Today October 2004) (ISSN 0266-0784)
- Long Distance Lexicography: a View from the Field (article in Dictionaries 2004) (ISSN 0197-6745)
- Who Owns English? (article in The Vocabula ReviewThe Vocabula ReviewThe Vocabula Review is an electronic journal about the state of the English language.-Publication:The journal is published online by the Vocabula Communications Company, on or about the third Sunday of each month. Robert Hartwell Fiske is the editor and publisher of Vocabula...
, June 2003) - Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions: Making Sense of Transatlantic English (2002)(ISBN 0-1951-5704-4)
Selected Dictionaries and Other Reference Works Contributed to
- Scholastic Childrens Dictionary (2010) ( ISBN 978-0-545-21858-0)
- Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary (2009) (ISBN 978-0-521-87143-3)
- Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's English Dictionary (2008) (ISBN 0-8777-9551-3)
- Cambridge Dictionary of American English (2008) (ISBN 0-5216-9198-2)
- Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2008) (ISBN 0-1995-4841-2)
- CollinsCobuild Advanced Dictionary of American English (2007) (ISBN 1-4240-0363-6
- Heinle Picture Dictionary for Children (British English) (2007) (ISBN 1-4240-0849-2)
- The Language Report 5: English on the move, 2003-2007 (2007) (ISBN 0-1992-3388-8)
- The 5-Minute Linguist: Bite Sized Essays on Language and Languages (2006) (ISBN 1-8455-3199-7)
- Berlitz English Pronunciation Program CD (2005) (ISBN 9-8124-6709-2)
- Harrap's Spanish and English Dictionary (2005) (ISBN 0-0714-4072-0)
- Oxford Dictionary of English (2005) (ISBN 0-1986-1057-2)
- Collins-Cobuild English Usage (2004) (ISBN 0-0071-6346-0)
- Microsoft Encarta Thesaurus (2004) (ISBN 0-3129-8363-8)
- New Oxford American Dictionary (2004) (ISBN 0-1951-7077-6)
- Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms (2003) (ISBN 0-5215-3271-X)
- Langenscheidt's Großwörterbuch Muret-Sanders Deutsch-Englisch (2003) (ISBN 3-4680-2126-7)
- Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2002) (ISBN 0-3339-6670-8)
- Oxford Essential Dictionary of the US Military (2001) (ISBN 0-4251-8069-7)
- Merriam-Webster Collegiate Encyclopedia (2000) (ISBN 0-8777-9017-5)
- Encarta World English Dictionary (1999) (ISBN 0-3122-2222-X)
- Longman Interactive American Dictionary CD-ROM (1997) (ISBN 0-5822-4795-0)
- Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture (1992) (ISBN 0-5822-3720-3)
Other Writing
- Culture Shock! London: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (2007) (ISBN 0-7614-2500-4)
- Culture Shock! Morocco: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (2007) (ISBN 0761425020)
- Culture Shock!: Chicago at Your Door (2007) (ISBN 0-7614-5400-4)