The OED gave us individual trees, but never a sight of the wholeforest or helpful pathways through it. The thesaurus does precisely that.

David CrystalHonorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor

English Revealed

The largest thesaurus in the world, and the fi rst historical thesaurus in any language

gave us individual trees, but never a sight

forest or helpful pathways through it. The thesaurus does

thesaurus in

and the fi rst

thesaurus in any language

pathways through it.

Publishing October 2009Introductory offer: £250 until 31 January 2010 (£275 thereafter*)

thesaurus in thesaurus in The largest thesaurus in The largest thesaurus in The largest thesaurus in

H I S TO R I C AL TH ESAURU S of the Oxford English Dictionary

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H I S TO R I C AL TH ESAURU S of the Oxford English Dictionary

Edited by Christian Kay, Jane Roberts, Michael Samuels, and Irené Wotherspoon

The Historical Thesaurus of the OED (HTOED) is unique—the largest

thesaurus in the world and the fi rst of its kind in any language. Based on the OED, it contains almost every word in English from Old English to the present, allowing users to explore words connected in meaning throughout the history of the language.

It is the ideal complement to the OED itself, enabling the OED to be

accessed and its contents viewed in wholly new ways.

October 2009 I 978-0-19-920899-9 I 2 volumes3,952 pages I sewn cloth binding I slipcase

I can hardly imagine any reference book more valuable … here is the information we had to spend hours hunting down through the thickets and coverts of the great OED, shot, stuffed, and mounted for us.

Philip PullmanAuthor of His Dark Materials

Forty-fi ve years of exacting scholarship by a well-led team have had a triumphal outcome. This book is a magnifi cent achievement of quite extraordinary value. It is perhaps the single most signifi cant tool ever devised for investigating semantic, social, and intellectual history.

Randolph QuirkEmeritus Quain Professor of English Language and Literature, University College London

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The Historical Thesaurus of the OED uses a thematic system of classifi cation and is organized into three major sections:

I The external world; II The mental world; III The social world. Within these sections, synonyms and related words form part of a detailed semantic hierarchy. For example, all the verbs meaning ‘to marry’, and other words connected with marriage, can be viewed together.

To browse more sample entries please visit www.oxfordonline.com/ht

Here is a work in which you can lose yourself and fi nd your language. The Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary is so thorough and readable that it resembles other thesauri in name only. Finally the OED has a worthy counterpart.

Ammon SheaAuthor of Reading the OED

A treasure-trove for anyone intrigued by word histories … An addictive hoard for those who love words.

Jean AitchisonEmeritus Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication

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About the project

In 1965 Michael Samuels, then Professor of English Language at the University of

Glasgow, gave a lecture to the Philological Society in which he announced that his department was embarking on a project to create a historical thesaurus of English. The proposal was based on a thorough analysis of the sense inventory of the fi rst edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and the intention was that the work would be carried out by staff and students at Glasgow University.

Work started soon after and over the following years the project grew

in momentum and continued under the dedicated leadership of the University's project team, passing in time to Professor Christian Kay to guide it through the later and fi nal stages.

Compiling the HTOED was a huge undertaking, and a huge challenge,

with material continually being revised and reclassifi ed as the project progressed. But fi nally in July 2008, after more than 40 years of scholarship, and many, many person-hours of dedication and hard work, the last entry was slotted into place, and the task of producing the print publication could begin.

About the project

In 1965 Michael Samuels, then Professor

H I S TO R I C AL TH ESAURU S of the Oxford English Dictionary

H OW TO O RD ER

Available to order from all good booksellers or from Oxford University Press

T: +44 (0)1536 741017 F: +44 (0)1865 313471

1*Pricing is accurate at the time of going to press, and is subject to change without notice

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Find out the full story at www.oxfordonline.com/ht

a word-lover’s dream

Barbara KingsolverAuthor of The Poisonwood Bible

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