The Compact is not an abridgement, but a direct photoreduction of the entire 20-volume set, with nine pages of the original on every nine-by-twelve page of the Compact (a magnifying glass comes with it).

If I want to know what Boswell or Chaucer meant when they were using a certain word, all I had to do is look in this dictionary! The coverage of essential English vocabulary and clear, accessible style make this revised edition of the 'Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English' ideal for general everyday use. Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages.No matter how much the English language changes, going back and seeing where words came from is valuable activity.

Please try again later as the restrictions may be lifted, or contact your service provider if the issue persists. He was subsequently closely involved in the preparation of the popular CD-ROM edition, published in 1992. It also provides help with English grammar, spelling, and punctuation, to help students get it right every time. I know some of you won't consider that being spoiled but still that's a pretty big ask for something you haven't discussed. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions.Every single time I have used this reference I have found myself looking at additional words other than those I initially sought, making connections between words I thought I knew, sometimes following linguistic trails that apparently only I can see (or at least it feels that way sometimes). More than 500,000 words, 290,000 main entries, 137,000 pronunciations, 249,300 etymologies, 577,000 cross-references, and over 2,412,000 illustrative quotations. I didn't need to see an entire history of it and a bibliography of where all the words were discovered for the first time in print and how the definition has changed in the last 500 years.