You are here: Home » About the OED » About OED Online » Tour of OED Online » Introduction
Search the site | Contact us
Tour: The OED goes online

Introduction

[Document index]   [Previous] step 1 of 37 About the OED[Next]
Image of print and online versions of the entry 'dygogram'

Welcome to this tour of OED Online, the new online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, in which we'll introduce you to the main features of the Dictionary, and show you how you can get the best from it, whether your interest is professional or academic, or whether you are simply curious about the past and present of the English language.

The new Oxford English Dictionary Online, available from March 2000, provides unparalleled access to the wealth of material contained in the acclaimed 20-volume Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and the 3 volumes of Additions. Online publication also enables the "treasure house" of the English language to move with the times as never before possible.

For the first time since it was completed in 1928, the OED is being completely revised - every word and every sense is being fully updated to take account of the latest changes in language and scholarship. New material from the £34 million revision programme which began in 1990 will be released quarterly, offering online subscribers a unique opportunity to chart the course of the English language as soon as the lexicographical analysis is available.

  • Search the equivalent of 23 volumes of information with speed and ease
  • Find a term when you know the meaning but have forgotten the word
  • Find words that have come into English via a particular language
  • Search for quotations from a specified year
  • Search for all quotations from a particular author and/or work
  • Display entries according to your needs - for the first time you can turn pronunciation, etymologies, variant spellings, and quotations on and off
  • Gain unique online access to at least 1,000 new and revised words each quarter
  • Compare revised entries with entries from the Second Edition to see how language has changed and how new scholarship has increased understanding of our linguistic and cultural heritage

During this tour, we'll show how you can find what you need in the Dictionary, how you can view it, and how you can work with it. The tour will be illustrated with real examples from the Dictionary, showing the richness and depth of the material available within it.

[Document index]   [Previous] step 1 of 37 About the OED[Next]