Webster's New World College Dictionary/Thumb Indexed 3rd Edition

As a purchaser of Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition published in 1972, I have used this dictionary for nearly 40 years. But as all things do, it's bindings have become compromised with age, and it is beginning to come apart. I've been nursing it along for the past few years mainly because I appreciate the editorial craftsmanship that went into its composition, chiefly the etymological history of the derivation of the words it defines. No other dictionary that I have scanned in recent years (save perhaps the Oxford English Dictionary) seems to go the extra mile when it comes to the preservation of the accuracy of the etymology. The Random House and Merriam Webster dictionaries I have looked at are woefully deficient in this area. I was therefore not looking forward to having to replacing this dictionary with a freshly published book.When I came across the availability of the Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (book with CD-ROM) on Amazon, I jumped at the chance to own it, hoping, sight unseen, that it retained the excellence of editorial craftsmanship that my older volume preserved. To my delight and surprise, it did! Not only that, but the addition of the Reference Supplement in the back is packed with interesting and useful information for quick reference.That this edition has retained the editorial vision and integrity of the first volumes published under the editorship of David B. Guralnik and Joseph H. Friend is a testament to the integrity of the publisher to retain the initial editorial vision for the volume and to carry it forward into future editions.The addition of the CD-ROM only adds to the usefulness of this dictionary, as now I can easily look up anything while at my computer without having to turn one page of the hardcopy volume if I so choose. Having this dictionary available at the click of a mouse is an added feature and time-saving benefit.Not everyone appreciates having the etymology of words documented. But as a former English major in college and a writer, I find this distinction to be useful in being able to determine the context of how words were first used and how that usage has changed over time. People tend to forget the original meaning of words and the significance that they can have on contemporary meanings and connotations, thereby losing insight into their original usage in the past. This can be especially crucial when endeavoring to determine, for instance, the legal meaning or definition of a word, and how the perception of a word's meaning can change over time.I am thoroughly pleased with this most recent edition of the Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition that it is highly recommended to anyone considering it or in search of a replacement dictionary for their personal use. You truly won't regret owning this dictionary.

This remains the best desk dictionary, far better than the other best-selling collegiate dictionary. Many things make it so, but mainly the etymology and the synonym sections stand out above other dictionaries. It is a prescriptive dictionary, which means it helps the reader understand and decide the appropriate word, not simply the way the word is used by the mis-educated populace. A dictionary is the book from which we choose our words (diction being word choice), and this NEW WORLD dictionary guides us and keeps us from using the mal juste. Its syllabifications and pronunciations are other marks that make it stand out.

Back when I was poring through various dictionary reviews on Amazon to finally replace my ancient, inadequate paperback dictionary with something worthy of a modern office, I ran across a dictionary that purportedly had the Declaration of Independence in the appendix section. I thought that would be nice for my kids...but this is not that dictionary and I can't find now where I got this idea. Anyway, THIS DICTIONARY has some surprises and for all those nitpicky people out there (like me) who'd like to know ahead of time what to expect, here is what I found:1) When your child comes to you with a homework assignment that requires them to break a word up into syllables, this dictionary will NOT help. In the foreward it says "...the syllabification of words has been revised." This dictionary focuses only on how words are properly divided when the text reaches the end of a line. Therefore you will find (as another 1-star reviewer pointed out) the word vegetable presented as "veg-eta-ble" (center dots are used instead of hyphens) though obviously this doesn't represent what most of us would call the syllables. I guess that is the problem - the editors didn't feel there was enough consensus on syllabification to include it and have assumed they will serve you better by showing how to properly break up words instead.I was thinking perhaps the pronounciation notation could substitute for showing the syllables but I was not happy with the pronounciation information either. An example is the word "bottle" which they suggest is pronounced bot'l (they use an "a" with 2 dots over it instead of my "o", but I have no idea how to type that). I would pronounce it as bot'tle and so I disagree with the given pronounciation and am still just guessing about the syllables. The backup/pocket dictionary I bought (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, paperback copyright 2004, based on the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition and part of the Everyday Language Reference Set) happily shows syllables and a pronounciation that makes much more sense to me.2) This dictionary has nice paper and is thumb-indexed. I thought I would really like the thumb-indexing, however the thumb indexes are placed in the general area of the section they indicate instead of where they should be in my mind and I find this annoying. If I wish to use the thumb index to go to the reference section in the back, I end up in the W's (last word on page is "wrongfoot", how apropos!). I still have to flip through the XYZs to get to the appendices.It's better than what I had before, and I think all the dictionaries have some issues, so I still gave this a 4-star review. I may purchase the American Heritage Dictionary at some point - the pictures look nice and I like how there seem to be many places where they discuss the history of certain words and the evolution of their uses as well as how to use the words properly in modern times. That's really why I bought an unabridged dictionary in the first place.

A classic.

まだあまり使っていないので、よく分かりませんが、いい本を買ったとおもいます。

Ich habe mir den Webster's zusammen mit dem Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary gekauft. Das zweite Buch kann ich auf jeden Fall mehr empfehlen. Ansprechendere Gestaltung und höhere Praxistauglichkeit machen den Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary zu meinem Favoriten.

この辞書は、定義が語源的に古いものから新しいものへと並べられています。普通の辞書（英英も英和も）は最もよく使う意味からまれな方へ並べられているので、この辞書はほぼその逆の順。例えばtermは、先頭の語源欄＜ラテン語 terminus = a limit, boundary等＞に、「決められた期日」「契約の条件」「人間関係」「専門用語」（もちろん英語で）などの定義が続きます。「限界」の原義からいろんな意味が発生した歴史が一目でわかります。　単語の意味をさっと調べたいだけなら、この辞書の実力は発揮されません。しかし、１つの単語についてじっくり調べたい、紙の辞書をながめるのが大好き、という人には本辞書は最適です。専門書を紐解く学者になった気分が味わえます。同義語欄も充実していて、短い例文とともに簡潔な説明があります。買うなら絶対ハードカバー。重厚、サムインデックス、表紙のデザインもgood。シソーラス付きは下半分にシソーラスがあるため、辞書の定義の数が本書に比べて激減します。お勧めしません。なか見拝見で両辞書を確認してみてください。

good service. the book is quite heavy