The first historical thesaurus in any language and largest thesaurus in the world, including every word in the OED Second Edition
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Professor Christian Kay, MA, AM, DipGenLing
Professor Jane Roberts, MA, DPhil, DLitt
Professor Michael Samuels, MA, DLitt, FRSE
Irené Wotherspoon, MA, MLitt
*Starred Review* Billed as “the first historical thesaurus to be written for any of the world's languages,” the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary (HTOED) already had a long history by the time it was published last year. It was first proposed back in 1965, but various circumstances—including additions and supplements to the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, on which it is based; a lack of funds; a system based on using paper slips; and a fire that nearly destroyed the archive in 1978—slowed things down. For scholars of the English language, it was worth the wait. The HTOED “looks at the range of meanings that a word has had over the ages, and documents all the words in general English use over a period of many hundreds of years.” Though based on the A–Z definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary (with additional material from A Thesaurus of Old English, 1995), it has a thematic arrangement. Three main themes— “The External World,” “The Mental World,” and “The Social World”—occupy the top level and are divided into 7 categories, which are in turn sliced into 26 categories, and so on. For example, “The External World” is divided into “The Earth,” “Life,” and “Physical Sensibility,” among other categories; and “Physical Sensibility” is further divided into categories such as “Taste/Flavour,” “Smell/Odor,” and “Sight.” There are more than 236,000 categories and subcategories, and a numbering system is used to identify categories and hierarchical levels. Individual entries may be arranged by part of speech; seeing/looking, for example (01.03.07.03), is treated separately as a noun, adjective, and adverb. Synonyms are presented in chronological order and include dating as well as conventions indicating provenance, alternate spellings, and more. It can be a challenge to puzzle out the thesaurus' structure, and readers will find themselves turning often to the introductory material with its detailed explanations, examples, and charts. Volume 2 comprises the index, an essential tool given the way the thesaurus is arranged—though it also takes fortitude (and a pair of reading glasses) to use, because category numbers rather than page and column numbers are used. This thesaurus is not for the faint of heart, but on the other hand, it's not intended to be a quick synonym finder. Rather, it is designed “to provide a detailed record of the English vocabulary from the earliest times to the present.” In addition to being a history of words used to express a meaning over time, it is also meant to be used as a thesaurus for any period in the past. Digging out meanings current in Chaucer's or Shakespeare's time would be difficult without the aid of an index by date, however, and it is to be hoped that this is one of the advantages users will find in the electronic version, which will be released along with the redesign of the Oxford English Dictionary Online later this year. --Mary Ellen Quinn
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Condition: Good. ** Complete Two-Volume Set (Slipcase Not Included) **; Good++; Hardcover; Former library book set with the standard library markings; The covers of both volumes are excellent with no library tags and "straight" edge-corners; Both volumes have a library stamp to the right textblock side while the top and bottom textblock edges are unblemished; Minimal library stamps to the front endpapers and a magnetic sticker inside the back cover of each volume; The text pages of both volumes are all bright and unmarked; The bindings are excellent with straight spines; This book set will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with foam padding; Large Format (Quatro, 10.75" - 11.75" tall); Heavy (14.4 lbs); Blue cloth covers with titles in gold lettering along the spines; 2009, Oxford University Press; 4448 pages; "Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary - 2 Volume Set," by Christian Kay, et al. Seller Inventory # SKU-0722AA04105055
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Condition: Very Good. ** Complete 2-Volume Slipcased Set **; Very Good/Very Good in a Good++ slipcase; Hardcover; Both volumes are in close to new condition; The only flaw is tiny crease to the bottom right edge-corner of the last few pages of Volume Two; Light overall wear to the slipcase with one "bumped" corner and a scuff/ding to the bottom back edge of the slipcase; This book set will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with foam padding; Large Format (11.75" - 12.75" tall); Heavy (14.4 lbs); Blue cloth covers with titles in gold lettering along the spines, housed in a matching blue cloth-covered slipcase; 2009, Oxford University Press; 4448 pages; "Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary - 2 Volume Set," by Christian Kay, et al. Seller Inventory # SKU-1592AA00104235
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Hardcover. Condition: As New. No Jacket. 1st Edition. Scarce, reprinted with corrections. Bought in the UAE without slipcase. Two volumes in dark blue bindings with gilt lettering to the spines, with large folding 'Guide to the Thesaurus' wall chart. The first comprehensive historical thesaurus ever produced containing almost every word in English as found in the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, and specialist dictionaries of Old English. An immaculate set. Seller Inventory # 1840
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Hardcover. Condition: As New. 1st Edition. NEW & UNREAD. 45 YEARS IN THE MAKING. This is now VERY RARE INDEED. The Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary (HTOED) is a unique new resource charting the semantic development of the huge and varied vocabulary of English. It is the first comprehensive historical thesaurus ever produced for any language, containing almost every word in English from Old English to the present day, and is a magnificent resource for the historical study of the language. It is based on a detailed analysis of English as found in the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and also draws on A Thesaurus of Old English. Conceived and compiled by the English Language Department of the University of Glasgow over a period of some 45 years, the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary is a groundbreaking analysis of meaning in the history of English. Content and Structure The thesaurus organization follows a unique thematic system of classification, with entries arranged in a comprehensive semantic hierarchy according to their meanings. Each individual synonym is presented in chronological order according to the first recorded date of the word's use in English as listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, with earliest synonyms given first. There are three major sections in the HTOED, reflecting the main activities and preoccupations of users of the language: I The external world II The mental world III The social world These in turn are divided into 354 major categories, such as Food and drink, Thought, or War. Further categories and subcategories follow, moving from the most general ideas to the most specific. Overall, the HTOED contains around 800,000 meanings, organized into more than 236,000 categories and subcategories. The semantic categories and subcategories are headed by phrases which define them and link to preceding sections. In the abridged example given here, the headings and numbering show that Terms of endearment, at the fourth level of the semantic hierarchy, are part of Love, which is classified within the higher category of Emotion, which in turn comes under The mind. 02 The mind . 02.02 Emotion . 02.02.22 Love . 02.02.22.04 Terms of endearment . The HTOED contains obsolete, historical, and archaic vocabulary, as well as the vocabulary of current English; it covers scientific, technical, and specialist terminology as well as slang, dialect, and informal language, and regional varieties of English from all parts of the world. Each term is precisely entered into its place in this comprehensive hierarchy of meaning, according to its meaning and date, and is accessible either by browsing at any level of the hierarchy, or by looking up a particular word in its alphabetical place via the Index. The Index itself lists nearly one million references and ensures a comprehensive lookup and accessibility of the full text. The final printed work is presented in two volumes: Volume 1 is the Thesaurus, while Volume 2 is the alphabetical Index listing the synonyms in Volume 1. Readers may thus approach the content of the Thesaurus in different ways: either by looking up a single lexical item in the Index and being directed to the appropriate section in the main Thesaurus, or by browsing by semantic category directly, and seeing words in their context of both historical development and the overall organization of meaning. There is an Introductory essay by the Editors and a Foreword written by Lord Randolph Quirk, together with a specially commissioned fold-out chart showing the principal levels of the semantic classification. Readership The HTOED is a unique resource for scholars of all types - linguists and language specialists, historians, literary commentators, etc. - as well as being a fascinating resource for everyone with an interest in the English language and its historical development. It is the ideal complement to the OED itself, allowing the OED to be accessed and its contents viewed in wholly new way. Seller Inventory # ABE-1675274264536
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