Oxford English dictionary Vs Collins english dictionary

Wailin · 09-01-2011 10:39pm #1

Just wondering does anyone have a preference on either of the mentioned dictionaries....I want to get one and am not sure which to choose, although they're probably both very good, I'm sure people have a preference and I'd like to hear opinions on it.
Cheers

sceptre · 10-01-2011 12:13am

Moved from Literature to English.

Eliot Rosewater · 10-01-2011 12:28am

What kind of Oxford Dictionary are you considering? There's a good few out there. I bought the Oxford Concise Dictionary and I find it excellent. I don't think I've ever looked up a proper* word and not found it. It's partly targeted at professionals so there are a lot of scientific words in there - like "cholinesterase" and "congruent". There's a lot of obscure words too - "cachinnate" (laugh loudly) and "sciolist" (me?

) for instance - so you know that the moderately advanced words you'll want to find will be in it.

The definitions are clear and non-moralistic. For example:

catamite - a boy kept for homosexual practises

In older dictionaries and some modern dictionaries the definition of catamite has a moral angle to it - not so here.

Some random definitions to illustrate clarity:

impeach - to call into questions the validity of (a practise).
impeccable - in accordance with the highest standards.
judgement - the ability to make considered decisions or form sensible opinions / an opinion or conclusion.
judgemental - having an excessively critical point of view.
scenery - the natural features of a landscape considered in terms of their appearance, especially when picturesque.

Some definitions, like catamite, also provide details of the origin of the word, which is nice.

*You won't find a definition for "omg", but you will find one for "lol".

Eliot Rosewater · 10-01-2011 12:32am

Oh my god - OMG actually is included!

looksee · 10-01-2011 12:07pm

We have a couple of dictionaries, including the Concise Oxford, but the one that is hauled out for definitive answers and good etymology is an old copy of Collins which is now so battered that it has lost its cover so I don't know which version it is (its about the same size as the Concise Oxford). I keep promising I will replace it with the current version, but really it's part of the family at this stage!

Wailin · 10-01-2011 1:37pm

Thanks guys for the replies. Whats the difference between the Oxford dictionary of English (2010) and the Concise Oxford english dictionary (2011)? I think every home should have a good english dictionary! Especially when playing scrabble...lots of cheating going on:D

Eliot Rosewater · 10-01-2011 6:54pm

The Oxford Dictionary of English is bigger than the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. It includes some encyclopedic information, like definitions for countries, and probably more etymologies and such. When I was choosing my dictionary I was stuck between those two, but sided with the Concise as it's more portable - easier to grab off the shelf and run downstairs. The ODE is heavy!

looksee · 11-01-2011 12:37am

The official Scrabble list of words is better than dictionaries, there are some lunatic words in it with qs and xs and zs. Trouble with ordinary dictionaries is that someone will grab another one and claim it overrules yours

Oxford English dictionary Vs Collins english dictionary

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