English Language History and Linguistics

This database is loaded on two computers in the Reference Room of the Moore Library. Please see the Reference Librarian on duty for assistance.

Location: Moore Library-Reference Room

The 1933 set (v.1-13; Supple 1-4) is in the Reference Extension under PE1625.N53 1933

Online at: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/oe_bosworthtoller_about.html

The electronic version of the Middle English Dictionary (MED) is hosted by the University of Michigan. "The print MED, completed in 2001, has been described as 'the greatest achievement in medieval scholarship in America.' Its 15,000 pages offer a comprehensive analysis of lexicon and usage for the period 1100-1500, based on the analysis of a collection of over three million citation slips, the largest collection of this kind available. This electronic version of the MED preserves all the details of the print MED, but goes far beyond this, by converting its contents into an enormous database, searchable in ways impossible within any print dictionary."

Online at: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/med/

Note: The online dictionary is for searching only and is not browsable. If you want to look up words in their alphabetical listing or just peruse the dictionary, the print edition might be best.

Originally published in 1775; reprinted in 1967.

"With more than 23,500 copies sold, this witty, accessible, and engaging book has become the new classic reference work praised by professional copyeditors as well as the general public looking for clear advice on how to write more effectively....Garner has written a major essay on the great grammar debate between descriptivists and prescriptivists. Painstakingly researched with copious citations from books and newspapers and newsmagazines, this new edition furthers Garner's mission to help everyone become a better writer, and to enjoy it in the process."