Oxford English Dictionary third edition ‘may never be printed’
Publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary revealed that the third edition of its reference guide may never appear in print. A team of 80 lexicographers began working on the book following the publication of the second edition in 1989 and the first...
Publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary revealed that the third edition of its reference guide may never appear in print.
A team of 80 lexicographers began working on the book following the publication of the second edition in 1989 and the first complete multi-volume dictionary in 1928. It is currently 28 per cent complete.
An Oxford University Press official said: “No decision has yet been made on the format of the third edition.
“It is likely to be more than a decade before the full edition is published and a decision on format will be taken at that point.”
The spokesman added: “Demand for online resources is growing but large numbers of people continue to purchase dictionaries in printed form and we have no plans to stop publishing print dictionaries.”
The Oxford English Dictionary already publishes revised and new entries online every three months, with a new version of its OED Online website due to be launched in December.
The publisher produces approximately 500 dictionaries, thesauruses and language reference titles in more than 40 languages in a variety of formats.