Encarta World English Dictionary

I purchased a copy of this dictionary about 5 months ago. My passion is studying the roots of words as well as the multi meanings of the words (semantics). I love writing, do not want to be garrulous. I have one copy at my office, one copy in my room and one copy for my fiance who lives with me and I just bought one for my nephew. I actually have asked my local bookstore manager to locate a couple of more for me to give to my brothers as gift. I find this dictionary the best I have ever had. Of course English being my second language, in past twenty five years, I have had more than a dozen of dictionaries. The pictorial, the examples, and history of the words in this dictionary have just been very helpful and insightful. Sam Ghezavat

Encarta World English DictionaryI own a number of dictionaries and consult most of them every day. Each has its limitations. All are necessary to my work. These self-references are shared inorder to suggest that the Encarta World Dictionary will be praised by some, reviled by others. Given its substantial cost, you are urged to (a) determine precisely what your needs are and then (b) determine to what extent Encarta fills most (if not all) of those needs. It was a welcome addition to my personal library. I refer to it almost every day. When evaluating a dictionary such as this, how important is the total number of words? This one offers comparably fewer than others in its price range. How important are the origins of words? I prefer other sources such as John Ayto's Dictionary of Word Origins. How important is historical (especially biographical) material? In this area, I rate the Encarta adequate. How current do you require a dictionary to be? None other in its price range is more current. How important to you is the nomenclature of the Internet and WWW? There are far better sources if that is your primary reference need. No dictionary of this scale can be everything to everyone. I rate it as highly as I do because of its practical value to me. Also, because it is aesthetically pleasing. I again urge you to determine what you need from a dictionary. Examine the Encarta carefully and then judge for yourself.

This is the first dictionary I've purchased since college. I saw it reviewed in the Washington Post and it sounded worthwhile. It makes me realize again how much fun the English language can be. The definitions here are first-rate...they are clear and concise and the word histories and language notes are fascinating. At this price, this is not a dictionary that you buy on a whim, but it makes a great family dictionary or one you can give as a gift.