Collins Dictionary of the English Language
Patrick Hanks (ed.)• In-depth coverage of contemporary English. Systematic surveys of over 200 fields of knowledge by expert consultants and specialist editors ensure not only an extensive but also a balanced treatment of today’s language.
• A single A-Z listing. Compound words, derivatives that have a meaning of their own, foreign terms, and abbreviations are all readily found as headwords.
• Full, rounded definitions in straightforward language make the information easy to understand.
• Excellent coverage of science and technology. Definitions are full and authoritative with emphasis on areas of particular relevance to contemporary life - electronics, communications, computer technology, life sciences, etc.
• Most important current meaning comes first.
• Full, precise pronunciations are pro¬ vided in a transcription specially adapted from the International Phonetic Alphabet and approved by Professor A. C. Gimson of the Department of Phonetics, University College, London.
• Etymologies are given without cryptic abbreviations and are both readable and informative.
• Usage notes provide guidance, where necessary, on difficult points of grammar, syntax, or idiom.
• Preferred hyphenation points (or their absence) are indicated for all headwords and derivatives.
• Examples in context provide guidance on usage and shades of meaning where doubt or difficulty exists.
• Geographical and biographical names and a variety of proper nouns are included (over 14,000 of them).
This Dictionary of the English Language provides in one easily handled volume a comprehensive treatment of the English language of today.