Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the definitive record of the English language, featuring 600,000 words, 3 million quotations, and over 1,000 years of English[5][3]. The dictionary is a corrected and updated revision of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (NED), which was published in 10 volumes from February 1, 1884, to April 19, 1928, and which was designed to provide an inventory of words in use in English since the mid-12th century[5].

Origins and Early Development

In 1857, a proposal was put before the Philological Society, a London-based organization devoted to the scholarly study of language[1]. The proposal addressed the deficiency of existing English language dictionaries and called for the compilation of a New English Dictionary (as it was originally called). Spearheaded by Richard Chenevix Trench, Herbert Coleridge, and Frederick Furnivall, this was to see a complete re-examination of the English language from Anglo-Saxon times onward[1].

An ideal dictionary would contain all obsolete words, all families and groups of words, accurate documenting of the earliest appearance of the words, detailed meanings and senses of words, and all literature had to be read and scanned for illustrations of these meanings[4]. Conceived of as a four-volume, 6,400-page work, it was estimated the project would take 10 years to finish[2].

The Society produces its Proposal for the Publication of a New English Dictionary (usually abbreviated as NED). Herbert Coleridge is appointed as its first editor[6]. However, Coleridge dies, and Furnivall is appointed as editor in his place[6].

James Murray and Editorial Leadership

Editorial work began in 1879 with the appointment of James Murray, who was at that time president of the Philological Society, as editor in chief[6][5]. Sir James Murray (born February 7, 1837, Denholm, Roxburghshire [now Scottish Borders], Scotland—died July 26, 1915, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) was a Scottish lexicographer and the first editor (from 1879) of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, now known as The Oxford English Dictionary[11][12].

Educated locally until the age of 14, Murray showed an aptitude for language from a very early age, eventually learning around 25 different languages[12]. Murray was a grammar-school teacher from 1855 to 1885, during which time he also wrote a famous article on the English language for Encyclopædia Britannica (1878) and served as president of the Philological Society (1878–80, 1882–84)[11].

Scriptorium is the name Murray gave to the two workrooms in which he compiled the OED. The first Scriptorium was built at Mill Hill School, where he taught until giving himself to the dictionary full time in 1885[19]. At that point, James Murray and his wife Ada Agnes Murray moved with their growing family (they would raise eleven children in all) to 78 Banbury Road, Oxford. A second Scriptorium was built in the back garden of their new home[19].

Collaborative Methodology

It was Murray who, in 1879, launched the great 'Appeal to the English-speaking and English-reading public' which brought most of the millions of quotation slips from which the Dictionary was mainly constructed—slips sent in from all parts of the English-speaking world[14]. By making a call to the public, asking for volunteers around the English-speaking world "to read and extract" quotations from various books. Ultimately, more than 800 readers responded with their assistance[4].

Besides these readers, the OED required the work of many others: sorters, sub-editors, assistant editors, editors, compositors, printers, proofreaders, professional authorities, delegates, and Oxford deans[4]. The poets Tennyson and Browning were consulted about the meaning of words that appeared in their poems.[4] J.R.R. Tolkien was an assistant lexicographer for one year, 1919.

Publication History

February 1, 1884: The first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, is published[2][6]. In fact, it took over 40 years until the 125th and final fascicle was published in April 1928 and the full dictionary was complete–at over 400,000 words and phrases in 10 volumes–and published under the title A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles[2].

In 1933 the New English Dictionary was reissued in 12 volumes (together with a 1-volume supplement) as The Oxford English Dictionary.[5] A supplement, containing new entries and revisions, was published in 1933 and the original dictionary was reprinted in 12 volumes and officially renamed the Oxford English Dictionary[2].

Second Edition and Digital Transformation

Project managers and systems engineers would now be required alongside lexicographers and the Press duly set about this with the formation of the New Oxford English Dictionary Project in 1984. Co-editors John Simpson and Edmund Weiner oversaw a core group of lexicographers in Oxford who reviewed, corrected, and edited the new electronic text, as well as adding 5,000 new words and senses[1].

The culmination of this mammoth task was the setting in type and subsequent printing of the Second Edition of the OED, published in 1989 on time and to great acclaim. The finished work filled 22,000 pages bound into twenty substantial volumes[1]. The second edition of The Oxford English Dictionary, known as OED2, was published in 20 volumes in 1989 by the Oxford University Press. Its coeditors were John A. Simpson and Edmund S.C. Weiner[5].

A CD-ROM version of the OED2 became available in 1992[5]. Work begins on an online version of the OED[6] in 1997.

Third Edition and Continuous Revision

In the 1990s, work began on a comprehensive revision of the OED[1]. John Simpson is appointed Chief Editor, and work begins on the first wholesale revision of the Dictionary—the Third Edition, or OED3[6] in 1993. John Simpson retires, and Michael Proffitt is appointed Chief Editor[6] in 2013.

The Dictionary has come to be regarded as authoritative, and in order to maintain its pre-eminence the Delegates of the Oxford University Press decided in 1990 to authorize a comprehensive editorial programme of revision and updating, the preliminary results of which are published here for the first time. The purpose of the current editorial work on the Dictionary is to produce a completely revised and updated text[10].

Distinctive Features and Methodology

Unlike most English dictionaries, which only list present-day common meanings, the OED provides a detailed chronological history for every word and phrase, citing quotations from a wide range of sources, including classic literature and cookbooks[2]. Arranged mostly in order of historical occurrence, the definitions in the OED are illustrated with about 2,400,000 dated quotations from English-language literature and records[5].

The aim of the dictionary (as stated in the 1933 edition) is "to present in alphabetical series the words that have formed the English vocabulary from the time of the earliest records down to the present day, with all the relevant facts concerning their form, sense-history, and etymology"[5]. The Oxford English Dictionary is based upon 'historical principles', and the meanings of individual words entered in the Dictionary are therefore ordered chronologically, within a semantic framework resembling a family tree. Earlier meanings (or related groups of meanings) of a word are placed before later ones, and it is typically possible to track the semantic development of a word over time throughout an entry[10].

Modern Digital Platform

The OED migrates to a new online platform, improving user experience, providing easier access to resources, incorporating more engaging interactive features, and of course, including the full digital edition of the OED[6] in 2023. Features of the OED include: Updated four times a year with thousands of new and revised entries · The Historical Thesaurus of the OED allows you to explore the evolution of concepts over time · Wide coverage of World Englishes and all types of usage from formal to slang · Etymological analysis, listing of variant spellings, and pronunciations using the International Phonetic Alphabet are provided · A more advanced search option, allowing you to search by subject, region, language of origin, register, and date of entry[23].

It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and usage of over 500,000 words and phrases past and present, from across the English-speaking world. Its 3.5 million quotations are taken from a broad range of English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books[23].

Legacy and Impact

From 1879, when he became chief editor, until his death 36 years later at the age of 78, James Murray devoted his life to the Dictionary.[15] He was personally responsible for "more than half of the English vocabulary, comprising all the words beginning with the letters A-D, H-K, O-P, and all but a fraction of those beginning with T." Murray also provided a model methodology and set the exacting standards that would make the OED the world-renowned resource it is today.

The Oxford English Dictionary is a living document that has been growing and changing for over a century and a half. Far more than a convenient place to look up words and their origins, the Oxford English Dictionary is an irreplaceable part of English culture. It not only provides an important record of the evolution of our language, but also documents the continuing development of our society[1].