Oxford English Dictionary Now Available Online - Technology Information

Online Newsletter, April, 2000

The 'Oxford English Dictionary' has been the undisputed authority on the history and development of the English language for more than a century. With more than 2.5 million quotations illustrating how words are used, the 'OED' is a unique source of information on the evolution of words and meanings from the earliest times to the present day.

In its current printed edition, the 'Oxford English Dictionary [Second Edition]' consists of 20 volumes, takes up four feet of shelf space, weighs 137 pounds, contains over 60 million words, 350 million characters, 577,000 cross references, 2.4 million illustrative quotations, 249,000 etymologies, 137,000 pronunciations, 290,000 main entries and 616,500 words and terms defined.

The CD-ROM version was first announced in 1992 (see 'Online Libraries and Microcomputers' November 1992 p.8). The CD-ROM edition was upgraded in October 1999 [Version 2.0] with a web browser interface.

The full text of the 'OED2' is now available online, enabling it to be searched in a way that is impossible in the printed edition. Updates will be added on a quarterly basis.

Online costs may be somewhat steep at $550 annual subscription fee for personal users, and higher charges of $795 per year (and higher) for network licensed multi-user organizational use. Access is via the Internet.

Prices for print and CD-ROM editions have been reduced significantly since they were initially introduced. For current pricing information, access the OED Web site at: http://www.oed.com or the contacts listed below.

For further information and pricing on the online edition, contact: Online Product Department, Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Fax: (212) 726-6442. Email: americasinfo@oed.com URL: http://www.oed.com For information and pricing outside the U.S. and Canada, contact: Oxford English Dictionary Online, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP UK. Fax: +44 (0) 1865 267811 Email: worldinfo@oed.com