Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary [With CDROM] by Random House (Manufactured by)

Product Details

Synopsis

With fifty years of experience in dictionary publishing behind it, Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is the most definitive single-volume reference of the English language available. This modern dictionary offers an exhaustive, traditional study of the language, while covering the latest, most important developments--ahead of any other dictionary.

Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is designed to meet the wide-ranging needs of today's students and scholars, who study ancient documents one day and surf the Internet the next; of professional writers, who craft poems or write articles for technical journals; of businesspeople, who need to communicate clearly, whether face-to-face or fax-to-fax; and--above all--the needs of word lovers.

In addition to standard and specialized vocabulary, this extensive volume contains a wide variety of features, encompassing up-to-date, authoritative factual and encyclopedic information. It is truly a unique general reference volume for the office, the school, and the entire family.

Important Features Include:

--A New-Words Section in the front of the book, with over 1,100 important words and meanings--words like broadband, urban legend, Disneyfy, and smoothie.

* Over 315,000 entries
* 2,400 spot maps and illustrations
* Scholarly, up-to-date etymologies, including dates to show when terms entered the language, and showing clearly labeled Americanisms
* Entries for important and famous people; places and historical events; major works of literature, music and art; names and abbreviations of academic, governmental, social, and fraternal organizations; popular given names; common abbreviations; and foreign terms
* Entries and definitions for current place names, reflecting recent political and geographical changes worldwide
* Coverage of major British, Canadian, and Australian terms
* Over 75,000 example phrases and sentences to show how words are used in context
* Metric equivalents for weight, volume, height, distance, etc., included in definitions and captions
* Endangered species identified
* Comprehensive supplementary notes at many entries, discussing: usage problems, pronunciations questions, distinctions among synonyms, regional variations and dialects
* Additional supplementary lists of synonyms, antonyms, words formed from common prefixes
* Valuable supplements in the front and back matter of the dictionary, including:
--Sound-spelling Correspondences in English
--A Basic Manual of Style
--Guidelines for avoiding insensitive and offensive language in both writing and speaking
--List of Words Commonly Confused

Biography

Anne Dahl teaches German at the Deutsches Haus at New York University. She has worked on dictionaries and other languages material for Knopf and other publishers.


From the Paperback edition.