Perhaps if you list all the AMerican and BRitish publishing companies that publish dictionaires, that would help.
Ya-hoo!
JGoldman, the experts here have said there were no comparable works, and you still didn't say please.
margo,
Here's a Yee-hah right back at you, embellished with all kinds of exuberancy and friendliness!
JGoldman10,
Some various thoughts:
It is not necessary for you to utter the civilities "Please" and "Thank you"; that's a matter for you to decide. However, your expressing these indications of gratefulness would go a long way to show that you appreciate the help you are receiving, even if you consider it a failed effort at helping you. Communicating with courtesy is not only civil, but is also smart: other posters will go a lot further in trying to help a courteous person than one who is desultory, demanding, and ungrateful.
ossusbucco is quite right. There is nothing at all similar to the OED. It is a one-of-a-kind, a sui generis, a nonpareil. After being told that, a person who continues to request such is vulnerable to being classified as information-deprived or cognitive disabled.
I hope you are not still using the term "comprehensive dictionary". Read what Samuel Johnson wrote:
"No dictionary of a living tongue ever can be perfect, since while it is hastening to publication, some words are budding and some falling away."
I read your request that somebody send you a list of all "AMerican and BRitish" publishing companies that publish dictionaries. That's quite the wrong approach for at least two reasons:
1. It's the wrong approach to what you're trying to learn. That request is so broad-sweeping that it would include children's dictionaries, misspellers' dictionaries, and many more dictionaries that are remote from your personal grail.
2. I think it's almost insulting to be asked that. You must take responsibility for your own scutwork and not ask somebody else to do the menial and labor-intensive aspects of your search.
If you would like to see a two-page news story about the OED, see "A Scholarly Everest Gets Bigger: The Oxford English Dictionalry updates and goes electronic" (TIME, March 27, 1989).
A recommended source of information is one of the newsgroups: < alt.usage.english >. There are professional linguists who post regularly.
Excerpts from the FAQ of alt.usage.english:
"The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd ed. (OED2) ... has no rivals as a historical dictionary of the English Language. It is too large for the editors to keep all of it up to date, and hence should not be relied on for precise definitions of technical terms, or for consistent usage labels."
The FAQ recommends these college dictionaries, among others:
--If you're interested in etymology, get The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992) or Webster's New World College Dictionary (1996).
You did not state whether your interest includes both online and paper-&-ink dictionaries, not what your nationality is. Australians, for example, would probably include MacQuarries (sp?) among dictionaries to be considered.
I apologize. To the dictionary experts here at these forums, could you please help me out?
"Which Dictionary Is the Best?"
http://slate.msn.com/id/2091949
Actually, I'm interested in purchasing large dictionaries.
According to Kister's Best Dictionaries FOr Adults and Young People-A Comparative Guide, THe OED 2nd edtion and WT NEw INternational DIctionary are the largest, and the the three recommended unabridged dictionaries are the OED 2nd edition, Random HOuse Dictionary (Second Unabridged Dictionary) and the WTNID. Are you sure there aren't any other dictionaries, American and British, of the same magnitude or caliber as the last three?
JGoldman,
The OED is not only the pinnacle of lexicography, but the greatest literary work of all time.
Suggested Reading: The Surgeon of Crowthorne
According to Kister's Best Dictionaries FOr Adults and Young People-A Comparative Guide, THe OED 2nd edtion and WT NEw INternational DIctionary are the largest, and the the three recommended unabridged dictionaries are the OED 2nd edition, Random HOuse Dictionary (Second Unabridged Dictionary) and the WTNID. Are you sure there aren't any other dictionaries, American and British, of the same magnitude or caliber as the last three?
CRaven, what are the next best resources on the English language?
I didn't say anything about the OED being the "best resource on the English language" I said it was the pinnacle of lexicography and the greatest literary work of all time.
A good search engine is more useful to me, and you might want to flesh out your criteria for "best" or this will be an excercise in futility.
Craven, you don't know of any other dictionaries? I'm interstede in builiding a collection?
Are there any dictionaries similar to the Webster's NEw International Dictionary, ANd the Random HOuse Dictionary (second UNabrided edition)?
Does anyone else have any further input?
Apparently, there are two versions of the WEbster's Third New International Dictionary-A 3 volume edition and an unabriged version. WHat's the differnce between both versions?
What are the best unabridged English language dictionaries on the market, besided the OEd second edition?
I'm intersted in buying acollection of large and unabridged dictionaries, British English and American English,besides the OED second edition.
What are the best ones out there? What about encyclopedic dictionaries, and "dictionaries of the English Language"?
May the bird of paradise bless your endeavor.
This thread reminds me why I sometimes think I'm very fortunate in not having any kids...
Does anyone else have any input?
