The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) records the development of the English language over the last 1500 years. It traces the evolution of over 600,000 words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of sources—from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts, wills, and cookery books.
As a historical dictionary, the OED is an unrivalled guide to the meaning, history, usage, and pronunciation of English words, both past and present. It records new words and the changing usage of existing words.
Key Features of OED Online:
♦ Distinguish the various meaning(s) of a word in different historical periods
♦ Search for the first recorded use of words
♦ Find etymologies, variant spellings, different pronunciations, and quotations
♦ Find a term when you know the meaning but have forgotten the word
♦ Search for quotations from a specified year, a particular author, and/or work
♦ Search for words that have come into English via a particular language
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