Oxford English Dictionary
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- proper noun
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Diccionario de inglés de Oxford
- Coming from Middle English, trappings is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "a cloth or covering spread over the harness or saddle of a horse or other beast of burden, often gaily ornamented."
- Oxford English Dictionary defines
- According to the Oxford English Dictionary
- Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
Examples
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The Oxford English Dictionary defines "to bear arms" as meaning "to serve as a soldier, do military service, fight."
Academic text (2000) -
The Oxford English Dictionary has chosen "GIF" as the American word of the year.
Blog text (7) -
Nor does he understand what the mission of the Oxford English Dictionary has always been.
Blog text (2) -
But there are around 250,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary!
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The earliest citation in the Oxford English Dictionary is from May 1890.
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The oldest citation of "sovereignty" in the Oxford English Dictionary is dated 1290.
Academic text (1995) -
Starting from scratch," according to our modern Delphic oracle, the Oxford English Dictionary, means starting "from a position of no advantage, knowledge, or influence."
Academic text (2000) -
Carter wrote, "Alas, the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary long ago caved on 'hopefully.'"
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Yet we can and must rely on a firm tradition of lexicography in the various languages concerned, including the large Oxford English Dictionary, that tells us what a given word meant at a given time, in a given context, and to a given writer.
Academic text (1991) -
The Oxford English Dictionary is considered the most authoritative source for English vocabulary.
Synonyms
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A very large English dictionary that shows when words were first used and their history
A large dictionary that tells when English words were first used
Surface Forms
Morphology
Oxford + English + dictionary
The compound is compositionally built from 'Oxford' (a place/institution), 'English' (the language), and 'dictionary' (a book of word entries), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it refers to a dictionary of the English language associated with Oxford. While the specific prestige or historical scope of the OED is extra knowledge, the basic referent is directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Oxford English Dictionary takes its name from Oxford, where experts worked for many years, and from English and Dictionary because it lists English words and shows how people used them in the past. So, the name means a large 'record' of English words and their history.