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Originally Posted by staceyv
 Did I spell something wrong or make a grammatical errror? I'm really confused and have a feeling I might be being made fun of, or I might just be misunderstanding what the hell you're talking about...Either way, please explain  |
From the OED website:
The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.
The OED covers words from across the English-speaking world, from North America to South Africa, from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean. It also offers the best in etymological analysis and in listing of variant spellings...
As the OED is a historical dictionary, its entry structure is very different from that of a dictionary of current English, in which only present-day senses are covered...
The OED is a wonderful work for someone who loves words and their meanings like I do. I may be rotten at spelling, but I love the history and meaning of the words which make up the English language. The OED gives each word in English a new depth and meaning. The print version contains 20 volumes.
It is far from "a stupid dictionary." But most people wouldn't know this, since few people have ever encountered the OED. It was one of my most fav reference tools when I still worked as a librarian.