The Oxford Reference Dictionary

by Joyce M. Hawkins (Editor)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1986

  $3.25

  A reference work of the broadest possible utility, this dictionary contains not only conventional material--over 49,000 vocabulary items with definitions, pronunciation and etymology--but more than 6000 encyclopedic entries, varying from fifty to 250 words on a wide range of subjects, including history, literature, music, cinema, theater, languages, myth and legends, theology, science and technology. Ninety pages of specially drawn illustrations and eight pages of maps enhance the text. Some twenty pages of appendices contain useful lists: weights and measures, chemical elements, U.S. presidents, and much more. Thoroughly up to date, the Dicionary features entries on specific inventions (e.g., the airplane, computer, traffic lights), an entry for each major language, and a brief history of every independent country in the world. Among the general subjects are anesthetics, astrology, astronomy, evolution, Impressionism, the Industrial Revolution, linguistics and printing. Proper name entries cover capital cities and other major metropolises as well as rivers and mountains and significant figures ranging from Charlemagne to Charlie Chaplin, from Darwin to Dickens. About the Author Joyce M. Hawkins is a member of the Oxford dictionary staff in England. She was a compiler of the Oxford Paperback Dictionary as well as the Oxford American Dictionary, among other works.

• Used

  Paperback
  1989

  $3.25

  Now available for the first time in flexible covers, The Oxford Reference Dictionary serves as both an up-to-date dictionary and a concise encyclopedia. It contains over 75,000 clear and authoritative definitions of words and phrases, with entries including pronunciation and etymology. One-third of the entire dictionary consists of over 6,000 fuller encyclopedic entries with information not only about people and places, but also about such topics as history, geography, science, technology, art, music, literature, cinema, languages, medicine, philosophy, psychology, mythology, theology, and sports. Over ninety pages of thematically grouped and generously labeled drawings illustrate subjects ranging from architecture, the body, and electrical power, to space exploration and the weather. The dictionary provides proper name entries with concise biographies of a wide variety of famous people, including Beethoven, Einstein, Gandhi, and Lenin, as well as entries for fictional characters such as Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. It also contains brief histories of individual countries, capitals, and other important cities, and an account of the development of every major language. Appendices offer a wealth of additional information including a listing of the countries of the world; the individual states and Presidents of the United States; weights and measures; the chemical elements; books of the Bible; and terms for groups of animals and birds.