Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 2096 pages
- Published by: Oxford University Press, USA
- Edition: 2nd Edition May 19, 2005
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0195170776
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0195170771
-
Book Dimensions:
11 x 8.9 x 2.2 inches
- Weighs: 6.8 pounds
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Recently there has been publicity about young lexicographers and their work with major American dictionaries. Erin McKean, 34, is the editor of the second edition of
The New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD) and continues the tradition of publishing a well-researched and current source of U.S. English. The first edition, with different editors, was published in 2001. What has changed in four years?
Words, of course, have been added and deleted. There are more than 2,000 new entries.
Google and
weblog are now in,
information superhighway is out. The type appears larger, and a line or two has been added to the brief country histories to bring them up to date. Another addition is the useful feature "The Right Word," which discusses synonyms. An example is the entry for
attack, which, in addition to a half-column definition, has another half-column discussing the differences in meanings for the synonyms
assault, besiege, charge, molest, and storm, among others. The first edition was criticized for not having a pronunciation key on every page, something the new edition remedies. The lists of U.S. presidents and states, tables of weights and measures, and most other features of the ready-reference section remain, but the lists of members of selected halls of fames have been dropped in favor of a "Language Guide," which includes commonly misspelled words and redundant expressions.
Definitions continue to be organized around the "core" meanings--that is, "the one that represents the most literal use that the word has in ordinary modern American usage." Similar to other current dictionaries, biographical, proper, and place-names are included--
al Qaeda;
Botox;
9/11;
Rice, Condoleezza;
Splenda; and
Sunni Triangle are new additions to NOAD. Black-and-white photographs and line drawings are still interspersed in the text, with the entry for novelist Nadine Gordimer now having a photo. Julia Child's and
Ronald Reagan's deaths in 2004 are noted.
NOAD is more current than its closest rival in size, the fourth edition of the
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000). For any library that did not purchase the first edition of NOAD, or wants to keep its dictionary collection up to date, this is a buy.
Christine BulsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Review
As with all Mobipocket dictionaries, you can look up a word in any book with a click. No configuration is required, just have this dictionary in your library. See how it works here.
--This text refers to the
Kindle Edition
edition.
Reader ReviewsThis is a review of the second edition of the dictionary. Naturally, it has been revised substantially by adding or updating entries and usage notes. This is well described by the publisher and other reviews. A key new feature called "The Right Word" are valuable synonym study boxes discussing subtle differences in meaning, e.g., "definite" vs. "definitive". The typography has been completely overhauled. The change is definitely for the better, although this may sound surprising given the richness and complexity in the first edition. Word functions, usage levels, examples, etc., are again set in distinct fonts, yet they harmonize here much better than before. I especially like the new italic face frequently seen in the numerous and illuminating examples. Phrases are explicitly set off from the main entry yet at equal weight. Etymologies and derivatives follow tightly at the very end but are still clearly recognizable. The appendix has also received some attention and is now much more appropriate for a dictionary. The various "Hall of Fame" lists from the first edition have rightly been dropped in favor of informative and relevant language aids covering grammar, style, spelling, capitalization and punctuation. This part also includes several interesting lists of commonly mis-spelled words, clichés to avoid, and redundant expressions. This is the best desk dictionary of contemporary American English.
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