The English Oxford Dictionary
A Short History of the OED
Following an assessment of the shortfalls of the contemporary dictionaries which included incomplete and inconsistent coverage, a project entitled A New English Dictionary on Historic Principles was developed. Known originally as the New English Dictionary, the OED is a comprehensive lexicon of the English language. It is neither the largest nor the earliest dictionary but it has had a significant cultural impact.
In The Beginning
Henry Coleridge was initially the first editor and progress on the initial purpose and intent was slow. In 1879 the Society entered into a contract with Oxford University Press and James Murray was appointed as editor. It was intended that the new dictionary would have four volumes and would include all English vocabulary from 1150 AD onwards. It was estimated that the piece of work would be 6,400 pages long and would take approximately 10 years to complete. Despite having a team of editors to assist him, Murray realised half way through the project that the deadline was unrealistic. In addition to reviewing the English language development over the last seven centuries, the team also had to cope with the continual growth of the language and the development of new words.
The First Edition
The first part of the dictionary (technically known as a ‘fascicle’) was released in February 1884. Between then and 1894 a total of 11 fascicles had been produced and a decision was made to publish smaller and more regular parts as long as the information was available. This continued until World War I. The work was finally completed in April 1928 when the English New Dictionary was produced. It was published in ten volumes and contained in excess of 400,000 words. James Murray did not live to see the final project delivered having died in 1915.
An Evolving Language
The English language is in perpetual development. Despite the immense work which went into producing this concise authority the Oxford English Dictionary soon would become out of date. By 1933, a Supplement to the Dictionary had been developed and a reprint of the original works was produced under the title of Oxford English Dictionary. A further Supplement was published in four volumes between 1972-1986.
The additional advancements of technology and the reliance on computers demanded that the dictionary be available not only on paper but also electronically. Converting this huge lexicon took five years and cost in excess of $13 million dollars to complete. In 1989 the Second Edition was completed.
The OED has also been published in compact editions and in 1988 the first edition was produced as a CD Rom. In May 2000 the Oxford English Dictionary Online became available.
The OED has evolved from consisting of a heavy set of twenty volumes taking up considerable shelf space to a flat disk weighing only a few ounces and now available at the push of a button. This powerful reference document however will never be laid to rest and will undergo continued change as the development of language and technology progress.
References:
Wikipedia Online Reference Material
Dictionary through a Lens
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