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Glite Dictionary
OED

OED

4 5.4
A very large English dictionary that shows when words were first used and their history
  • noun
  • /oʊ iː di/
translation icon : OED
  • Speaking of the OED, I gave my dad an unabridged, multi-volume OED for his birthday one year.
  • OED Online, Oxford
  • OED Online
  • OED defines

Examples

  • The citations given in the OED are especially helpful in understanding the history of the syringe and its uses.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Someone with access to the OED can probably give a better answer than that.

    Blog text (11)

  • The OED also defines "ethology" as the "science of character formation."

    Academic text (2012)

  • While I had the OED out, I looked up "gormless," just on a hunch.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED, 1992), the Latin origin of the term "cruelty" comes from the same root as "crude."

    Academic text (2000)

  • Encyclopedia Britannica, Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, and the OED will not have new print editions.

    Blog text (13)

  • The OED is widely regarded as the most comprehensive English dictionary available.

  • If you want to understand the origins of a word, you can look it up in the OED.

  • Librarians recommend the OED for its detailed definitions and historical citations.

Synonyms

Oxford English Dictionary
vsOED
3 5.5

A very large dictionary that shows the history and meanings of English words published by Oxford University Press

is the standard shortened form used in running text
O.E.D.
vsOED
  • Specialized
8.4

A large dictionary that tells when English words were first used

is the same abbreviation without periods

How Comprehensive

OED
4 5.4
lexicon
4 6.6
dictionary
165 1.0
glossary
9 4.4

Surface Forms

OED singular
OEDs plural

Morphology

OED = O + E + D

This is an initialism (acronym) formed from the letters O, E, D and is not analyzable into productive English morphemes, so learners cannot infer its meaning from the letters alone.

Etymology

OED is a short name made from the first letters of Oxford, English, and Dictionary. Because it began at Oxford as a very large book that records the 'history' of English words, OED now means the main, trusted dictionary of English.