The American Heritage College Dictionary
- Book Review,
by Editors of The American Heritage Dictionaries
Amazon.com
Despite the word "college" in the title, The American Heritage College Dictionary is the best choice for anyone who's looking for a substantive desk dictionary but isn't quite ready to commit to the space an unabridged takes. With more than 200,000 definitions and biographical and geographical notes, along with crisp photos, drawings, and diagrams in every margin, The American Heritage College Dictionary packs a lot into its 1664 pages. Under "lock," for example, you'll find both a diagram explaining how your key fits into and opens one, as well as a photo of boats passing through a river lock in Heidelberg, Germany. The actual definition section for "lock" shows 5 uses as a noun and 14 as a verb, followed by the idioms "lock horns" and "lock, stock, and barrel," and an etymological note that the word comes from the Old English loc, meaning "bolt or bar." As with all of the American Heritage dictionaries, The American Heritage College Dictionary boasts clear typography, clean design, and terrific usage notes based on the opinions of its 173-member usage panel, a group of noted North American writers and scholars, including Daniel Boorstin, June Jordan, Calvin Trillin, and Eudora Welty. These usage notes (for example, "brunette" seldom refers to men, because "-ette" is too closely associated with the feminine gender), along with regional notes (in the Northern U.S., a "bubbler" is a drinking fountain) and word histories, are a valuable addition to the standard definitions and synonyms one would expect from a college dictionary, and they are what make The American Heritage College Dictionary stand out from the crowd. --Rebecca A. Staffel
From Library Journal
Dictionaries run the gamut from the extremely specialized, such as the Oxford English Dictionary, to picture books designed for young readers. This one falls in the huge middle ground of general-interest, all-purpose dictionaries. Substantially revised and expanded after nine years, with 7500 new words and thousands of updated definitions in all areas, the current edition is made particularly relevant by the inclusion of many terms for Internet or computer-related topics, for example, as well as terms related to the September 11 attacks including "9/11" itself. The editors, who are affiliated with Houghton's reference division, also responsible for the longstanding The American HeritageR Dictionary of the English Language, provide lucid definitions of terms as well as biographical information on prominent people from a wide assortment of fields (e.g., science, business, politics, and the arts). They have also updated data on U.S. cities and states with population statistics from the 2000 census and have added over 2500 photographs and handy black-and-white illustrations, such as diagrams, charts, and outline maps of countries throughout the world. Quirks do appear: there is no definition of "free jazz," for example, despite coverage of other major jazz genres such as Dixieland, fusion, bop/bebop, hot and cool jazz, and swing. In such cases, a specialized topical dictionary is needed. Also, users should retain older dictionaries to locate terms cut from the current edition or to see how words change over time. Finally, although etymologies are given for many words, as are notes on language use and synonyms, a good thesaurus is still needed to help users find comparable words. These minor drawbacks aside, this still makes for a fine general-interest dictionary that continues the strengths of its predecessor and is sure to be of use in any library. William Kenz, Minnesota State Univ., Moorhead Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Book News, Inc.
Of all American-English dictionaries, American Heritage dictionaries have most closely hewn to an ideal that dictionaries should not only answer questions about individual words, but should engage the mind in larger questions involving the usage and history of the language. The present thumb-indexed (plain edge also available) dictionary displays in a more compact form most of the virtues of its immediate predecessor, the much-admired American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition (1992). These include new words of the 1990s, guidance to usage, word histories, regional notes, an Indo- European roots appendix, and some 2,500 illustrations. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Book Description
With 7,500 new words and senses, along with 2,500 new illustrations, the Fourth Edition is the most up-to-date college dictionary available. Along with all of the in-depth features and expert usage guidance that readers have come to expect from American Heritage®, the Fourth Edition includes an updated Appendix of Indo-European roots and a helpful new style guide for writers.
Book Info
All-new fourth edition presents the very best that a college dictionary can offer. Updated and revised including many new computer and Internet terms along with newly coined words in science, politics, business, and the arts. Previous edition c1997.
About the Author
The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries and of other reference titles published by Houghton Mifflin Company are trained lexicographers with a varied array of interests and expertise. Most of the editors hold graduate degrees and have studied at least one foreign language. Several have degrees in linguistics or in the history of the English language. Others have degrees in science or sometimes other disciplines. All the editors familiarize themselves with the vocabulary in specific subject areas, collect materials on new developments and usage, and work in association with consultants to ensure that the content of our publications is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible.
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