Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
Encyclopedia
The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, often abbreviated to SOED, is a scaled-down version of the Oxford English Dictionary
(OED). It comprises two volumes rather than the twenty needed for the full second edition of the OED. The sixth edition was released in August 2007.
An abridgement of the complete work was contemplated from 1879, when the Oxford University Press
took over from the Philological Society
on what was then known as "A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles". However, no action was taken until 1902, when the work was begun by William Little
, a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
. He laboured until his demise in 1922, at which point he had completed "A" to "T" and "V". The remaining letters were completed by H.W. Fowler ("U", "X", "Y", and "Z") and Mrs. E.A. Coulson ("W") under the direction of Charles Talbut Onions
, who succeeded Little as editor.
Onions wrote that SOED was "to present in miniature all the features of the principal work" and to be "a quintessence of those vast materials" in the complete OED.
The first edition was published in February 1933. It was reprinted in March and April of that year and again in 1934.
A second edition appeared in 1936, and was reprinted in 1939.
A third edition was published in 1944, reprinted in 1947, 1950, 1952, and, with an addendum of new entries, in 1955. The third edition was published in America under the name "The Oxford Universal Dictionary". A reset version of the third edition, with new addenda and with the etymologies revised by G. W. S. Friedrichsen, was published in 1973. This was also published in 1983 by Book Club Associates in the United States
as the 'Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'.
The whole text was completely revised for the fourth edition, which was published in 1993 as the "New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary" under the editorship of Lesley Brown. The book aims to include all English words which had substantial currency after 1700, plus the vocabulary of Shakespeare, John Milton
, Edmund Spenser
, and the 1611 Authorized Version of the Bible. As a historical dictionary, it includes obsolete words if they are used by major authors and earlier meanings where they explain the development of a word. Headwords are traced back to their earliest usage.
The fifth edition was published in 2002, and contains more than half a million definitions, with 83,500 illustrative quotations from 7,000 authors.
On September 21, 2007 16,000 words lost their hyphens in a 6th edition
of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Angus Stevenson, editor
of the Shorter OED, stated the reason: "People are not confident about using hyphens anymore, they're not really sure what they are for." Its researchers reviewed 2 billion words (in newspapers, books, Web sites and blogs from 2000). Bumble-bee is now bumblebee, ice-cream is ice cream and pot-belly is pot belly, etc.
for Windows and Macintosh. Version 3.0 of that CD-ROM is copy-protected using SecuROM
.
The dictionary is also available as an electronic download plug-in for WordWeb
for Windows and for Mac OS X.
In addition to all of the contents of the traditional paper dictionary, the electronic versions include:
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(OED). It comprises two volumes rather than the twenty needed for the full second edition of the OED. The sixth edition was released in August 2007.
An abridgement of the complete work was contemplated from 1879, when the 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...
took over from the Philological Society
Philological Society
The Philological Society, or London Philological Society, is the oldest learned society in Great Britain dedicated to the study of language. The society was established in 1842 to "investigate and promote the study and knowledge of the structure, the affinities, and the history of languages"...
on what was then known as "A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles". However, no action was taken until 1902, when the work was begun by William Little
William Little
William Little may refer to:* William Brian Little , founding partner of Forstmann Little & Company, a private equity firm* William Carruthers Little , Ontario farmer and political figure...
, a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
. He laboured until his demise in 1922, at which point he had completed "A" to "T" and "V". The remaining letters were completed by H.W. Fowler ("U", "X", "Y", and "Z") and Mrs. E.A. Coulson ("W") under the direction of Charles Talbut Onions
Charles Talbut Onions
Charles Talbut Onions was an English grammarian and lexicographer and the fourth editor of the Oxford English Dictionary....
, who succeeded Little as editor.
Onions wrote that SOED was "to present in miniature all the features of the principal work" and to be "a quintessence of those vast materials" in the complete OED.
The first edition was published in February 1933. It was reprinted in March and April of that year and again in 1934.
A second edition appeared in 1936, and was reprinted in 1939.
A third edition was published in 1944, reprinted in 1947, 1950, 1952, and, with an addendum of new entries, in 1955. The third edition was published in America under the name "The Oxford Universal Dictionary". A reset version of the third edition, with new addenda and with the etymologies revised by G. W. S. Friedrichsen, was published in 1973. This was also published in 1983 by Book Club Associates in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as the 'Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'.
The whole text was completely revised for the fourth edition, which was published in 1993 as the "New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary" under the editorship of Lesley Brown. The book aims to include all English words which had substantial currency after 1700, plus the vocabulary of Shakespeare, John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
, and the 1611 Authorized Version of the Bible. As a historical dictionary, it includes obsolete words if they are used by major authors and earlier meanings where they explain the development of a word. Headwords are traced back to their earliest usage.
The fifth edition was published in 2002, and contains more than half a million definitions, with 83,500 illustrative quotations from 7,000 authors.
On September 21, 2007 16,000 words lost their hyphens in a 6th edition
Edition
In printmaking, an edition is a number of prints struck from one plate, usually at the same time. This is the meaning covered by this article...
of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Angus Stevenson, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the Shorter OED, stated the reason: "People are not confident about using hyphens anymore, they're not really sure what they are for." Its researchers reviewed 2 billion words (in newspapers, books, Web sites and blogs from 2000). Bumble-bee is now bumblebee, ice-cream is ice cream and pot-belly is pot belly, etc.
Electronic versions
The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is available on CD-ROMCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
for Windows and Macintosh. Version 3.0 of that CD-ROM is copy-protected using SecuROM
SecuROM
SecuROM is a CD/DVD copy protection and digital rights management product developed by Sony DADC. SecuROM aims to resist home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and attempts at reverse engineering software. It is most often used for commercial computer games running under the...
.
The dictionary is also available as an electronic download plug-in for WordWeb
WordWeb
WordWeb is an international English dictionary and thesaurus program for Microsoft Windows and iPhone. Available for download online, the program is partly based on the WordNet database.- Functions :...
for Windows and for Mac OS X.
In addition to all of the contents of the traditional paper dictionary, the electronic versions include:
- Audio pronunciations
- Automatic look-up of words from other applications
- Search functions
- Crossword solver and anagram functions