Re: Merriam-Webster's Unabridged vs Oxford English Dictionary

Alex Blekhman wrote:

Hello,

I am not linguist and I don't have special education in
linguistics. I need qualified advise about English
comprehensive dictionaries nowadays. Here is my
understanding as a list of statements:

1. There are only two big English comprehensive dictionaries
nowadays worth buying:

a) Webster's Third New International Dictionary,
Unabridged (W3)
b) Oxford English Dictionary (OED)

Other dictionaries either have less entries or less accurate
or both.

2. W3 underwent last major update in 1961 while OED was
updated in 1997, so OED reflects current language more
accurately. However, W3 has more entries (~470K) than OED
(~291K).

3. W3 is more descriptive while OED is more prescriptive.
(Can it be the reason that W3 has more entries?). Please
correct me if I'm oversimplifying things here.

I'd like to hear any thoughts, corrections and comments
about above statements. I'll welcome any links to resources
where concise review of current dictionary affairs can be
found. Also, short question: is online (or CD-ROM) edition
of W3/OED is more updated than paper edition or is it just
an electronic snapshot of paper content?

The Third International dates, as you say, to 1961, has not been, and
will not be, updated. Every few years there's a new printing with
Addenda in the front. M-W's energies go into the Collegiate series, now
in their 11th ed., the standard for American publishers.

The MW3I and the OED are utterly different and basically cannot be
compared. Have you looked inside them?

OED describes English, very rarely American, usage.

The other American unabridged, the Random House, is updated regularly.

There is no way to recommend any one dictionary without knowing what you
want to use it for.

For instructions on "correct" usage or for etymology, you should use the
American Heritage Dictionary.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

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