Training Presentation notes
Background
1. Unique project - as the strapline says - “The definitive record of the English
Language”
2. The Oxford English Dictionary is the most comprehensive dictionary of the
English language. It traces the development of English from the earliest records ,
and formally from 1150 AD, up to the present day. The Dictionary aims to cover
the full spectrum of English language usage, from formal to slang, as it has
evolved over time.
3. About 20,000 volumes in print and 600,500 plus words and 3 million quotations
spread over 1000 years of English
4. The Oxford English Dictionary is widely regarded as the accepted authority on
the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and
pronunciation of 600,500 words— past and present—from across the Englishspeaking world.
5. The OED started life more than 150 years ago. Today, the dictionary is in the
process of its first major revision. The OED is updated at regular intervals almost
every 3 months.
6. The What's new tab at the top right of the page – Videos- Writing the OED
7. Lots of additional functionality – Historical Thesaurus, links to other OUP
resources (including ODO, ODNB), features of the month, My OED, Timelines,
Categories & Sources, In the News. “We’ve tried to tilt the site more towards the
English language than towards the dictionary as an end in itself.” John Simpson,
Chief Editor.
8. Published quarterly since 2000, the updates make up the Third Edition of the
OED. Third edition in progress since 1993, first complete revision of all words.
Working database now available in online version, public versions may change
before final publishing
9. Differences between OED & ODO. While Oxford Dictionaries focuses on the
current language and practical usage, the OED shows how words and meanings
have changed over time. (Example search: salubrious)
Home page
1. Quick Search - show how easy to use – this functionality probably all that most
users need. (example –intrepid). Improved snapshot view, no need to go into
word itself in this case. Always lots of help available, link to BBC, rss feed.
London Gazette & Scott in quotations. Link to ODNB
2. Another quick example – ‘selfie’ – to show process of new words coming into the
dictionary.
3. QS ‘quick’ – sense 1 of 184, widen search to phrases, timeline
4. Current Features & link to Aspects of English
5. Word of the day
6. About, Browse the dictionary, Categories, Timelines, Sources, Historical
Thesaurus (see below)
7. Helpful resources – esp. Search the OEDs information pages
8. OED Appeals - where OED editors ask for your help in uncovering the history of
particular words and phrases.
Training Presentation notes
About (also ‘More about the OED’ on home page)
1. History of the OED, One step at a time – links to the DNB
2. Learning resources KS3-uni & learning quizzes (open – look at hints, worksheets
and teacher notes available)
3. Quizzes – best way to find your way around the dictionary for advanced
functionality. Look at the first question in quiz (original meaning of skyscraper).
Browse the dictionary
1. Refine, part of speech – adjective, usage – humorous (also remove refine
categories). View as list or timeline
Categories
1. Sciences/Life sciences – run, refine for subject – palaeontology. Save to My OED
Timelines
1. Mouse over date ranges
2. Refine for agriculture/bee keeping, 1250-1300 ‘bike’. To entry – bike in Middle
English Dictionary (free (University of Michigan), links to Old English Dictionary –
subscription, also available), Thesaurus – swarm of bees
3. When Japanese influenced English
Historical Thesaurus
1. ‘Semantic index to the contents of the OED’. Chronological within meaning. 66%
coverage of words in OED, always being added to
2. 44-year project at the University of Glasgow. First printed 2009 – 2 volumes, 2nd
volume is index – much easier to use online. Updated in tandem with OED.
3. Lots of interesting information about the project in the About section
4. External world/sensation/odours/fetor/stinking
5. Look up ‘fool’ in OED, then link to HT for other meanings, development. Scroll
through historical list to ‘plonker’. Also, subcategories for female at the bottom of
the list. Run search for ‘fool’ in HTOED for different categories. Also ‘drunk’.
Sources
See the most used sources.
1. Default view is total number of quotations. View Geoffrey Chaucer
2. Back to full list, reorder for dates. View Beowulf. Reorder dates for modern. View
Guardian – podcasting (for discussion of what to call it)
My OED
1. Saved entries & searches. Organise into folders. Preferences.
Word entry
1. Skyscraper- oldest, original meaning at the top of definition, scroll down to
modern meaning. Outline view – snapshot view of quotation dates. ODO link.
Search ‘skyscrapper’ for alternative spellings.
2. Pronunciation – click for popup explanation
Training Presentation notes
3. Print, save, email, cite
Wildcard searches
1. *phobia, (list of 128), * can be used for spelling difficulties – rec*ship. OED brings
up entry for receivership (& others)
2. ? for single letter (crossword – name of an animal, 6 letters z????y) ? for
deciphering old documents with illegible characters.
Advanced Search
1. First cited work – Ulysses, Subjects – engineering, French & textiles (crafts &
trades), Language name - Basque
2. Combining search terms. Saucy Dance – list of 5, look also at ‘fricassee’ to see
the toggle on/off for Quotations, and ‘egg’ to use the Control&F function to find
the word in a long entry. Also ‘back’ ‘can’t (cannot) scratch
3. Slang words from the 1990s.
4. First quotation – Sterne, Joyce, Pynchon. Quotation - Kundera, Achebe,
Vonnegut, M.Amis
5. Example – student of 18c. literature – usage ‘poetic and literary’ & dates of entry