i’ve never been on this site before – that is to say, you don’t even get like a couple free words

what a joke

  • @TheGrandNagusEnglish
    82•11 months ago

    You can still buy the book or access the site via most libraries.

    I get that it’s a bit annoying, but I’m guessing you’d also be annoyed about an ad-ridden, data-harvesting dictionary.

    The Oxford English Dictionary is without a doubt the most well-researched, comprehensive, and linguistically complete English dictionary on Earth, bar none. Nothing even comes close to its depth and scope.

    It perhaps is the most well-researched and comprehensive dictionary of all languages, but I wouldn’t know.

    It’s laid out in an unusual way and even has words and alternate meanings that haven’t been used for centuries. It’s not meant to be a general-purpose dictionary, it’s niche and predominantly for linguistic experts or people fascinated by language.

    An unbelievable amount of research goes into it, and those people deserve to be paid.

    There are dozens of freely-available general-purpose dictionaries out there if you want them.

    • @NevermindNoMindEnglish
      37•11 months ago

      I was annoyed, like the OP, then I read your comment and now I’m impressed and have an urge to buy a copy of OED I most certainly will never open. They owe you a commission on my sale.

      • @stolyEnglish
        15•11 months ago

        A copy will literally fill a shelf. It comes in volumes with addenda releases periodically.

    • @[email protected]English
      9•11 months ago

      I don’t think you can buy the book. It was 20 volumes in 1989, and they’ve been working on an ongoing update since then. There’s no plans to physically print a third edition.

      But yeah, it’s a serious scholarly resource, and they do put out free small dictionaries as well.

      https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/