The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

Anna Marietta da Silva, Lexicography Being so rich in detail such as names, places, dates, events, and happenings that surround OED, the book is actually about the people starting, making, and continuing the journey of OED. Hence, the book is highly recommended for lexicographers, linguists, teachers, language planners, dictionary users, and fans. In reading this book, readers will obtain a new perspective of seeing OED: from a dictionary to a masterpiece created by dedicated parties working together because of their enormous love and pride of English.

Michael Adams, Journal of British Studies Until now [...] we have had no reliable comprehensive history of the OED. With The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, however, Peter Gilliver has supplied that missing history. Gracefully written and occasionally wryly humorous, it achieves the highest standard of scholarship: it is an important book that is a pleasure to read. [...] [There] is a lot to cover in a mere 586 pages of narrative, but Gilliver does it thoroughly and neatly. [...]The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary will stimulate many new approaches to the OED, but it will stand as the definitive biography of the project for a century, at least.

Daniel DeWispelare, History Peter Gilliver's meticulous account [...] is essential reading for historians, linguists, and literary scholars who are interested in Anglophone lexicography and its most important creation: the OED... This book is not a history of a single dictionary but, instead, the ramified history of an evolving tradition of lexicography that has given rise to an array of indispensable scholarly resources... Gilliver's work is much more than a history of the OED and its makers. It is also a media history of the last 150 years.

Language This work is erudite, massively learned, and meticulously documented and, by some magic instilled into it, both informative and entertaining. [ ] G[illiver]'s claim on the first page of the preface that his being an insider and a working lexicographer is of some advantage is amply justified at every turn in this book [ ] It is no mean feat to digest the multitudinous [ ] minutiae-into a readable and even suspenseful narrative, but Gilliver has pulled it off admirably. The richness of documentary material that underpins this book is remarkable. [ ] The splendid achievement of this book will, despite the fact that new information will inevitably be found and new theories be propounded, deservedly stand as the definitive history of the OED for many years to come.

Jamie Camplin, History Today Definitive.

Stuart James, Reference Reviews As befits such a story, and ultimately such an intellectual and prestigious triumph for Oxford University Press, this history is contained in an exemplary volume. The footnotes are legion but never intrusive, there is a 14-page bibliography and an excellent index. The whole is designed and produced in an elegant, handsome and welcom...

Peter Gilliver has been an editor of the Oxford English Dictionary since 1987, and is now one of the Dictionary's most experienced lexicographers; he has also contributed to several other dictionaries published by OUP. In addition to his lexicographical work, he has been writing and speaking about the history of the OED for over fifteen years.

Preface Acknowledgements List of illustrations List of capsules 1: Beginnings 2: Furnivall's Dictionary: 1861-75 Interlude. The work of Furnivall's sub-editors 3: Manoeuvres: 1876-9 4: The road to Ant: 1879-84 5: The Dictionary divides: 1884-7 6: Storm and stress: 1888-97 Interlude. Method: From quotation slip to published entry 7: And then there were four: 1987-1915 8: After twilight: 1915-23 9: Limping over the finishing line: 1923-33 10: Interregnum: 1933-57 11: Learning to swim (again): 1957-72 12: Second Supplement to Second Edition: 1972-89 13: Towards OED3: 1989- Guide to abbreviations Bibliography Index