What Happened This Day in History February 1
This was not the first dictionary of the English language that was put into print. Noah Webster published his dictionary, "A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language", in 1806 and it was an American dictionary.
What is interesting about the Oxford Dictionary is that it not only gives present day meanings of words, but it also gives a history of a words definitions throughout different time periods. In 1992 there was a digital version of the dictionary that was released on CD. In order to put the dictionary into digital existence it took 120 individuals just to type in the information. This dictionary can now be accessed online by subscription. The annual subscription price is a hefty $295 a year or $29.95 a month. You can access the Oxford Compact Dictionary for free at http://www.askoxford.com/dictionaries/.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary can also be accessed online. You can search for words free on their home page and subscribe to their premium services of the unabridged edition of the dictionary for $4.99 a month or $29.95 a year. I would have checked out their service as they have a 14 day free trial, but they require you submit a credit card to view the trial and I didn't want to do that.
You can imagine how much work it would be to keep dictionaries updated. The meanings of words change a lot. We don't think about this often or ever. The digital age has brought about a lot of terminology changes and additions. For instance the word "mouse", it's no longer just a rodent but an input device for your computer.
My daughter-in-law who is from the Ukraine is always amazed at how many different meanings some words can have in the English language. If you write, you enjoy words. It's always important to continue to expand your vocabulary. The word of the day on Webster's site is, "raj • \RAHJ\ • noun *1 : rule; especially often capitalized: the former British rule of the Indian subcontinent". I'm a bit puzzled by that as it doesn't seem to be a very useful word to me. Oh well, guess I did learn something new.
Source:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=VideoArticle&id=52322
http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/noah.htm
http://www.askoxford.com/?view=uk
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl
Published by Pat Bartels
Previously employed in the Human Resources field, Pat enjoys traveling and tweaking computers when she is not writing articles for Associated Content and Factoidz. She is fascinated with personal finance, th... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentEverybody uses words, but creative people make their own words -- to describe something better or to describe something new. Life and language are full of change!
Infirmative article on the use of dictionaries.
Great to know. :-)
Interesting read Pat!
I still keep the old book by the computer - even with all of the online stuff, I like to turn the pages! Good one, Pat. Cheers.
I'm using my sister's tiny netbook (on which I cannot type, but bhunting and pecking as it is so tiny) to do some quick commenting and spread PV love while my computer is "sick."
Neat article!
My mother used to punish me by making me read the dictionary. She recalls to this day when I found the word flatulence. I love words. You are rich with material Pat!