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Oxford English Dictionary back to the Mac

by Mel Martin Jul 18th 2009 at 10:00PM

If you make your living with words, and some of us around here at TUAW do, then a good dictionary is what you need.

The mother of all dictionaries, the Oxford, is now available for Macs (PPC and Intel) on CD with half a million words, and the ability to trace word usage through more than 2 million quotations. This version 4 edition CD has the full text of the OED 2nd edition, plus supplementary volumes, full text search, options to customize the entry display, and a variety of ways to display the results.

The Dictionary is designed to be copied to your hard drive, and requires at least a G4 processor with 867MHz or greater or an Intel Core Duo 2.13GHz or faster. The dictionary can run on either OS X 10.4x for 10.5x.

If memory serves the OED hasn't been on the Mac since version 1, and this is a welcome return. The CD is pricey, US$295.00, but buying the printed version is more than $900.00 and takes 20 volumes. Amazon has the CD version for $212.40.

You're probably saying "hold it -- my Mac has the Oxford Dictionary built in!" You'd be right, but it is a cut down version, with about 2/3 of the definitions missing, and for U.S. users, we get the Oxford American Dictionary, not the English Dictionary.

The CD release is not perfect. It has no way to save searches or info out for later research, and the dictionary does not integrate into the existing dictionary on Leopard, so the two don't talk to each other. The GUI is ugly and not Mac like. If you are looking for the last word in dictionaries, however, this is it.

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If you make your living with words, and some of us around here at TUAW do, then a good dictionary is what you need. The mother of all...
 

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Chris

In the UK we get the Oxford American Dictionary too, or is it possible to change this?

July 20 2009 at 9:02 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Satyakam Khadilkar

I would happy to pay that price for a nice Encyclopedia.

Pardon me for going slightly off-topic, but I believe those discussing dictionaries, would also be interested in encyclopedias.

I have been searching for a while for a nice encyclopedia that can be available on a cd /dvd as a native app.

1. I want a nice presentation (from both, content and looks point of view), something similar to print version of Britannica Encyclopedia or the DK books. I believe part of fun of reading an encyclopedia is its presentation and makes the reading much interesting. Wikipedia is amazing, has unbeatable content, but doesn't come close in terms of presentation if compared to print encyclopedias.

2. I want a linear order along with networked-links navigation. I know that links appearing on every other word in a wikipedia article are very helpful if you are researching a subject. However, if I want to read a particular subject and have enough time to spend, I would prefer some kind of linear order. For example, if I want to read about Art history in 19th century, I would have to go back and forth on wikipedia, trying to remember where i am on this imaginary landscape, and still would have a feeling that I missing some part of it.
A native app with a links network and a also a linear order of links for particular subjects would be really helpful.

3. I understand that online-encyclopedia's are helpful because they could update the content easily so that the content is not out of date. This can be easily achieved by having a native app but content online. In my ideal world, I would like the encyclopedia app to be something similar to iTunes.
A basic set of articles would be available in the native app on installation (I know this is not the case with itunes). For more specific articles you should be able to buy those speciality packs. If any article that you have gets updated, you would get the update notification (like iphone app updates).
Thus you have the advantage of having the content on disk and also the ability to update it if required.

July 19 2009 at 1:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Klokan

There is a huge amount of dictionaries available in the Stardict format, which you can download and convert into the native Dictionary.app format.
Then is the dictionary perfectly integrated into the Mac OS X tools.

Just use: http://code.google.com/p/mac-dictionary-kit/ on any data files from http://sourceforge.net/projects/stardict/files/.

The same dictionary data format (Stardict) is also compatible with the WeDict application on the iPhone - so all those dictionaries can also be used offline and saved in your pocket :-).

July 19 2009 at 10:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Klokan's comment
teece

Those are very cool links Klokan: I'm gong to check them out.

That said (and this really applies to Monkeyfood, too), there is no dictionary that compares to the OED: *in any language.*

It is the result of hundreds (thousands?) of people. It started back in the 1800s. It is a synchronic dictionary*, meaning it details the word as it has been used, in all its meanings, going back to Middle English, and earlier for words that are very vital to English. Each word as a collection of attested quotes of how the words have been used in throughout a word's meaning, going back to the first meaning. On top of all that, it has an astounding number of words. It was also the very first dictionary to be digitized in a custom version of SGML/XML, at a time when nobody outside a few academics had any idea what that was.

Which is why it is such a shame that it is a] so expensive, and b] hamstrung by such a lame interface (the old one was lame, too, and the Windows version is no better).

I have the Compact OED, which is the full 2nd Ed. dictionary compressed into one very large hardback. To do that, they had to put 9 regular OED pages onto one page, use several thousand physical pages, and supply the reader with a magnifying glass. Inconvenient to use, but slightly cheaper than the CD (or the outrageous monthly subscription fees to the online version), and *way* cheaper than the 20 volume edition.

It's annoying how tight-fisted the OED is with their dictionary, considering how much of the work was done by volunteers (look up its history, its fascinating. There's even an entire book about the making of this amazing dictionary).

* To understand the significance of this: many of the words in Shakespeare have changed meaning since he used them, either subtly or drastically. The OED is one of the only centralized places to find the meanings that Shakespeare intended. See the word 'nice,' for an example. It meant 'stupid' in Shakespeare's day, if I'm remembering the timeline correctly.

July 19 2009 at 3:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Scott F

Advertising that it comes on a CD-ROM makes it sound like we're in 1995.

July 19 2009 at 7:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris

Don’t buy this!

If you need the OEDe2, get a monthly subscription to their online access.

You get more up to date words and since you are using your favorite web browser you have some pretty good built-in options for saving, copying, printing or whatever. The UI is much nicer, too.

However, I am glad to see that Mac use has become high enough to bring it back. I just hope that they eventually make an iPhone-friendly site for my monthly subscription.

July 19 2009 at 3:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Duran Dujam

My library provides a free subscription to the online version, which has the advantages of not needing a disk and having a more pleasant UI.
Many libraries, especially school and university libraries, do too.
Check with yours.

July 19 2009 at 2:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bloodnok

i bought the oup dictionary for a long ago disposed windows machine. i even stupidly bought the upgrade. the ui was so appalling i returned it, swearing never to buy another inept computer product from oup. i'd recommend avoiding this. get the paper dictionary. at least it hasn't a workable drm ...

July 19 2009 at 1:29 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
OwlBoy

A dictionary got the whole MAC thing wrong. How stupid. Of anyone they should know Mac is not an acronym!

July 19 2009 at 12:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rory

There is something wrong with that Intel spec all the way around. There is no Apple product with a 2.13 GHz Core Duo (notice Core Duo not Core 2 Duo) in the history books that I can find.

July 18 2009 at 11:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Monkeyfood

Or you could use the Cambridge Dictionary online for free:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define_b.asp?key=15602&dict=CALD

July 18 2009 at 11:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Monkeyfood's comment
Duran Dujam

Does not compare.

July 19 2009 at 2:09 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
HB

Yeah, the too products are not even remotely comparable. If you buy the hardback edition the dictionary is 20 volumes and contains a detailed etymology of every single word, including quotations of first use.

July 19 2009 at 10:26 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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