Ah Dict New College Edn Thumb Index

A riddle: what book weighs 8.5 lbs., is read almost every day, but is never finished? Easy answer: "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language," third edition (1996, 1992) ["AHD"]. As a teacher of first-year college English courses, I recommend this dictionary to my students. It has large print; lists some synonyms; has word history and usage notes; offers illustrations; shows proper hyphenation, syllabification, and pronunciation of words. For the rare instance that a word is not found in the "AHD," I suggest that students consult the library's copy of the "Oxford English Dictionary," second edition ["OED"]. For classroom use, I recommend the "Oxford American Dictionary" (1980), an inexpensive paperback, which has some excellent, brief usage notes. This dictionary makes an excellent high school graduation present for the college-bound student. It is also a good reference book for the home or office library.

Without a doubt this is a far superior dictionary than the Merrium-Webster's dictionary. This dictionary is designed the way a dictionary should be. Definitions are listed not how they evolved historically, but how they are used with the most common usage of a word coming before less common uses.Also, the English usage notes in the dictionary are more reflective of the way English is used in the United States than the MW dictionary.

In 1973, just before entering college, I purchased the then current edition. It's the best dictionary I've ever owned, and among the best I've ever used (even when you consider I studied English at the college level, and have used some of the most authoritative dictionaries of the discipline). I am so sold on it, I'm giving each of my two daughters one for Christmas this year.