Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

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The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD) was the first advanced learner's dictionary of English. It was first published 70 years ago. It is the largest English-language dictionary from Oxford University Press aimed at a non-native audience. Users with a more linguistic interest, requiring etymologies or copious references, usually prefer the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, or indeed the comprehensive Oxford English Dictionary, or other dictionaries aimed at speakers of English with native-level competence.

Video Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Publications

English dictionaries

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English was first published in 1948; the current edition is the ninth. The following editions exist:

First edition first published in 1948 (12 impressions)
Second edition first published in 1963 (19 impressions)
Third edition first published in 1974 (28 impressions)

ISBN 0194311015/ISBN 9780194311014

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

The book's cover title was changed beginning with 4th edition. However, the old name was still being referenced by foreign language versions of the dictionary up to 6th edition.

Fourth edition first published in 1989 (50 impressions)

ISBN 0194311104/ISBN 9780194311106

Fifth edition first published in 1995 (65 impressions)

CD-ROM edition (1997-05-01, ISBN 0-19-431469-3/ISBN 978-0-194-31469-5): includes 63,000 references, 90,000 examples, 65,000 definitions, 11,600 idioms and phrasal verbs, 1700 words illustrated, and 2000 new words and meanings.

Sixth edition first published in 2000 (117 impressions):

ISBN 0-19-431424-3 (paperback), ISBN 0-19-431510-X (hardback), ISBN 0-19-431550-9 (international student's edition, paperback)
ISBN 0-19-431585-1/ISBN 978-0-194-31585-2 (paperback with Genie CD-ROM) (2002-03-21)
China The Commercial Press edition (???????? ???o???) (ISBN 7-100-03919-3): Includes 4500 new words and definitions over the original English publication. Reduced number of letters used in definition from 3500 to 3000.

?th impression (2004-03-?)

Seventh edition first published in 2005: Includes 183500 words, short phrases explanations; 85000 examples, 2000 new words and definitions, 5000 encyclopaedic vocabulary, Oxford 3000 commonly used word list, 7000 synonyms and antonyms, 2000 illustrations, 32-page colour illustrations, 96 pages of special topic pages

ISBN 0-19-431649-1/ISBN 978-0-194-31649-1 (paperback with Compass CD-ROM) (2005-02-24)
China The Commercial Press edition (???????? ?7?) (ISBN 978-7-100-05498-0): 1 revision, 1 impression.

1st impression (2007-08-?)
Revision 1, 1st impression (2013-03-?)

Eighth edition first published in 2010: The production had taken 5 years and over 30,000 hours of editing.

ISBN 0-19-479904-2/ISBN 978-0-194-79904-1 (with Oxford Iwriter)
English Mac OS X edition: Published by Oxford University Press ELT.

Version 8.6.946 (): Includes in-app purchase where sample entries from the dictionary are included, News feature (News from Oxford University about product discounts, language learning and teaching blogs, and other relevant matters).
Version 8.7.21 (OS X 10.9, 2017-01-25)

Japan Android edition (?????????????? ????? ???): Supports Android 2.2. Published by BIGLOBE Inc.
Japan iOS edition (?????????????? ????? ???): Supports iOS 4.3 and above. Published by BIGLOBE Inc.

Version 1.4 (iOS 8.0, 2016-12-09)

China The Commercial Press edition (???????? ?8?) (ISBN 978-7-100-08744-5): 3 revisions, 8 impressions.

1st impression (2012-06-?)
Revision 3, 8th impression (2012-12-?)

Ninth edition first published in 2015: Includes over 185,000 words, phrases and meanings (with 700+ new words and meanings). Added Express yourself notes, Wordfinder notes. DVD software support Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.6. DVD includes dictionary, British and American English audio, Oxford iSpeaker, Oxford iWriter, topic wordlists, teacher resources (downloadable videos, lesson plans and activities for use in class). Basic online contents includes dictionary, British and American English audio, pictures, word origins, usage notes, Oxford 3000 and Academic Word lists, Oxford Text Checker. Premium Online service includes My Wordlists.

paperback + Oxford iSpeaker/Oxford iWriter DVD + Premium Online Access Code (ISBN 978-0-19-479879-2)
hardback + Oxford iSpeaker/Oxford iWriter DVD + Premium Online Access Code (ISBN 978-0-19-479878-5)
1-year Premium Online subscription (ISBN 978-0-19-479888-4)
iOS edition (ISBN 978-0-19-479889-1)
CD-ROM edition (ISBN 0-19-479900-X): latter includes many etymologies.
Android version: Published by Oxford University Press ELT Division. Supports Android 4.0.3. Free download gives 100 sample entries from the OALD 9th edition. Owner of 8th edition Android apps can be upgraded to 9th edition at discount.

1.1.3.0 (Android 4.0.3, 2016-09-15)

Android code version: Published by Oxford University Press ELT Division. It is a version for users from educational institutions.

3.5.42 (Android 2.2, 2013-12-30)

iOS version: Published by Oxford University Press ELT Division. Developed with Paragon Software.

2.2.1 (iOS 7.0 demo, 2016-09-14): Free download version includes 100 sample entries from the new OALD 9th edition. English, Russian language support.

Obunsha edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary New 9th Edition/?????????????? ?9?) (2015-09-25, ISBN 978-4-010-75299-9) (with book, Windows 7/Mac OS X 10.6 DVD-ROM containing iSpeaker and iWriter, online access code, DVD installation guide): Includes 185,000 references (700 over previous edition).
China The Commercial Press edition (???????? ?9?) (ISBN 978-7-100-12356-3): 4 revisions, 8 impressions.

Revision 4, 8th impression (2016-09-?)

Foreign Language Limited edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary New 9th Edition/???? ???? 9th Edition) (2015-09-??, ISBN 978-0-19-479879-2) (with DVD-ROM containing iSpeaker and iWriter):

?th impression (2015-09)

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

It is a demo version of Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, which includes 100 sample entries from the OALD.

Ninth edition

Android version: Published by Oxford University Press ELT Division.

1.0.19.0 (Android 2.2, 2015-09-22)

Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

9th edition: Includes 22,000 words, phrases and meanings; 50,000 corpus-based example sentences, 690 collocation notes show over 26,000 collocations (words that are used together), 80 Thesaurus notes, Grammar Points and Which Word? notes; 48-page Oxford Academic Writing Tutor; 47-page reference section includes information about academic grammar, as well as punctuation, numbers and measurements. CD-ROM includes Oxford Academic iWriter, 500 extra words and phrases, words spoken in British and American English, iGuide, full range of academic entries via 'Mini Dictionary' mode, Oxford Academic iWriter, practice exercises, PDFs of the Word Lists and a bibliography of all the texts in the Oxford Corpus of Academic English.

Print+CD-ROM version (ISBN 978-0-19-433350-4):
Android version (ISBN 978-019-479898-3):
iOS version (ISBN 978-0-19-479896-9):
Mac OS X version: Published by Oxford University Press ELT Division. Includes 120 Thesaurus notes, Language Banks, Grammar Points and Which Word? notes; British and American English voices.

1.0 (OS X 10.9, 2017-01-31)

Oxford Learner's Thesaurus: A Dictionary of Synonyms

The thesaurus was originated in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 7th edition, where over 200 sets of synonyms were located at specific lexical entries.

1st edition: Includes 2000 entries, 17000 synonyms and antonyms, 4000 definitions, 17 usage labels, 30 special subjects. Headwords derived from Oxford 3000 entries. CD-ROM supports Windows 2000, Mac OS X 10.4; includes thesaurus, special topic browser, and My Topics where users can create personalized mini-thesaurus, games, exercises, and all the study material from the print dictionary.

Oxford University Press CD+print edition (ISBN 0-19-475200-3/ISBN 978-0-19-475200-8)

1st? impression (2008-05-06)
?th impression (2014-04-??)

The Commercial Press edition (OXFORD Learner's Thesaurus a dictionary of synonyms/???????????) (ISBN 978-7-100-07095-9): 4 impressions.

1st impression (2010-10-??)
4th impression (2015-01-??)

Android demo edition: Published by Oxford University Press ELT. Free download version includes 100 sample entries from the dictionary.

1.0.7.0 (Android 2.2, 2015-12-07)

Oxford Learner's Pocket Dictionary

4th edition: Includes over 38,000 words, phrases, and meanings in British and American English.

paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-439870-6/ISBN 978-0-19-439870-1)

1st? impression (2008-01-01)

paperback edition (ISBN 978-0-19-439872-5)

1st? impression ()

Oxford Learner's Pocket Dictionary of Business English

1st edition: Includes over 38,000 entries with real examples from a new corpus of Business English, vocabulary from British and American English, 1,000 most important terms are marked with a star.

paperback edition (ISBN 978-0-19-431733-7)

1st? impression ()

Oxford Learner's Pocket Grammar

1st edition: Includes grammar topics in 2-page sections.

paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-433684-0/ISBN 978-0-19-433684-0)

1st? impression (2008-05-22)

Oxford Learner's Pocket Phrasal Verbs and Idioms

1st edition: Includes 1,500 phrasal verbs and idioms, 134 units divided into 24 modules in topics such as sport, study, business, social events and home technology; information on style, synonyms, opposites and derivatives, and common word partners.

paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-432549-0/ISBN 978-0-19-432549-3)

1st? impression (2013-01-17)

Oxford Learner's Pocket Thesaurus

1st edition: Includes over 25,000 synonyms and antonyms, up to 12 synonyms given for each of 5,000 key words.

Paperback version (ISBN 0-19-475204-6/ISBN 978-0-19-475204-6)

1st? impression (2010-05-13)

Counterpack version (includes 5 copies of the Pocket Thesaurus)

?th impression ()

Oxford Learner's Pocket Verbs and Tenses

1st edition: Includes 110 units are divided into 14 sections.

paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-432569-5/ISBN 978-0-19-432569-1)

1st? impression (2013-02-28)

Oxford Learner's Pocket Word Skills

1st edition: Includes over 3,500 key words and phrases, 180 topics including the news, technology and the environment.

paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-462014-X/ISBN 978-0-19-462014-7)

1st? impression (2011-12-22)

Oxford Learner's Quick Reference Grammar

Android version (ISBN 978-0-19-450280-1): Includes 181 topics, over 2000 examples.

Version 1.1.10.0 (Android 4.0.3, 2016-08-31)

iOS 9th edition (ISBN 978-0-19-450278-8): Includes 181 topics, over 2000 examples. Supports iOS 7.0 or later.

English-Chinese dictionaries

The Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English with Chinese Translation

2nd? edition (??????????/??????????): Published by The Commercial Press and Oxford University Press for Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong.

?th impression (1970-??-??)

The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English

2nd edition (????????????): Published by Tung Hua Book Co., Ltd. in Taiwan. Based on English OALD 2nd edition.

?th impression (ISBN 978-957-636-479-2) (1978-11)

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English

3rd edition (????????????) (ISBN 957-636-400-0): Published by Tung Hua Book Co., Ltd. in Taiwan.

?th impression (1984)
?th impression (ISBN 957-636-050-1/ISBN 978-957-636-050-3) (1989)

6th edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English Revised and updated/???????????????): Published by Tung Hua Book Co., Ltd. in Taiwan.

?th impression (ISBN 957-636-416-7/ISBN 978-957-636-416-7) (1995-08-01(1995-01-08?))
?th impression (ISBN 957-636-152-4/ISBN 978-957-636-152-4) (1997-05-01(1997-01-05?)/1990?)

4th edition (????????????) (ISBN 957-636-400-0)

6th edition (1989-09), 6th edition 7th impression (2000-10)

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English with Chinese Translation

3rd? edition (????????????/????????????) (978-7-100-00636-1): Simplified Chinese version published by The Commercial Press in China.

?th impression (1988-??-??)
?th impression (1995-??-??)

Oxford Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary

3rd edition ()

Traditional Chinese (????????): Published by Oxford University Press and sold by Chuanwushufang.

?th impression (1981)

3rd edition

Traditional Chinese (????????) (ASIN 0195837037/ISBN 0-195-83703-7/ISBN 978-0-195-83703-2): Published by Crane Publishing Co.,Ltd. Based on the English OALD 3rd Edition. Edited by Lin Lianchang.

?th impression (1982)
?th impression (1986-01-01)

Simplified Chinese (????????/??????????????(?????)) (ISBN 0-19-583409-7/ISBN 978-0-19-583409-3): Based on the English OALD 3rd Edition.

?th impression (1988-05)
?th impression (1995)

Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary

Simplified Chinese versions of Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (??????????/??????????) has been published by The Commercial Press since 1988. Traditional Chinese version has been published by Oxford University Press (China) Ltd. since 4th edition.

Revised 3rd Edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary Revised Third Edition)

Traditional Chinese (???????????????)

1st impression (1984)

13th impression (1988)

4th Edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary Fourth edition): Based on the English OALD 4th Edition.

Traditional Chinese (?????????????) (1994)
Simplified Chinese (?????????????) (ISBN 978-7-100-02195-1, 1997-08):

Extended 4th Edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary Extended fourth Edition/????????????????) (ISBN 978-7-100-03415-9): Includes 57000 head words, 81500 examples, 12720 phrases and clauses. Supplement includes 3000 head words, 240 remarks.

Simplified Chinese (2002-04): Based on the OALECD 4th Edition published in 1994.

1st impression: (2001/2002-01-01?)
last impression: (2002-04)

5th Edition (???????????5?)
6th Edition (???????????6?): Based on the English OALD 6th Edition. Includes over 80000 head words, over 90000 examples, 40 inset pages, 1700 pictures. Uses under 3000 commonly used words for explanations.

Traditional Chinese condensed print (2001-04)
Traditional Chinese (2004-04)
Traditional Chinese large print with English Synchronization Drill CD-ROM Version 1.2 (???????????6????)
Simplified Chinese condensed print (??????????(???)?6?) (2006-05):
Simplified Chinese (2007-04)

7th Edition (???????????7?/???????????7?): Includes over 183500 words (2000 new words), phrases, and explanations (5000 specialized terms in grammar, industries, commerce, technology; 700 world phrases, 2600 cultural words, 2000 words with picture examples); 85000 bilingual examples, 400 usage examples, 130 usage pages, 44 colour pages.

Traditional Chinese

hardback with Genie DVD-ROM (ISBN 978-0-19-549827-1, 2008-01-15)
Traditional Chinese (2008-03)
large print (ISBN 978-0-19-545998-2, 2008-06)
iOS edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (7th edition)/??????????(???)/???????????7?): Supports iOS 7.0 or above. Includes Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English versions.

1.5 (2015-05-21)

Simplified Chinese

hard cover (ISBN 978-7-100-06253-4): 3 revisions, 120 impressions.

1st impression (2009-04)
last impression (2013-08)

condensed print (??????????(???)?7?) (ISBN 978-7-100-06701-0) (2009-07): 3 revisions, 9 impressions.
soft cover (ISBN 978-7-100-06706-5): 3 revisions, 4 impressions.

1st impression (2009-11)
last impression (2013-03)

large print (??????????(???)?7?) (ISBN 978-7-100-06708-9): 3 revisions, 4 impressions.

1st impression (2010-01)
last impression (2013-06)

iOS edition (??????????(?7?)): Published by The Commercial Press (Beijing), Ltd. Supports iOS 6.1 or above. Includes Simplified Chinese, English versions.

1.0.1 (iOS 6.1, 2014-02-26)

8th Edition: Includes 184500 words, phrases, explanations (with 1000 new words and definitions); 49 writing guides in 14 categories, 78 expanded picture pages, 28 professional academic phrases, 68 pages of reference messages, 8 categories of usage examples, Oxford iWriter composition software CD, over 2,600 pages. It was published as part of 35th anniversary of cooperation between The Commercial Press and Oxford.

Traditional Chinese (???????????8?) (2013-07): CD supports Windows XP or above, includes iWriter.

Paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-396634-4/ISBN 978-0-19-396634-5)

?th impression (2013-02-??/2013-03-??/2013-04-15)

CD+Paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-398612-4/ISBN 978-0-19-398612-1)

?th impression (2013-06-15/2013-07-01)

Softback condensed print edition (ISBN 0-19-396635-2/ISBN 978-0-19-396635-2)

?th impression (2013-06-15)

CD edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (Eighth edition) CD/??????????(???)??) (ISBN 978-0-19-398613-8):

?th impression (2013-06-15)

iOS edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary/??????????): Supports iOS 8.0 or above. Includes Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English versions. Support cross-searching with Oxford Business English Dictionary (Second edition) (English-Chinese edition).

1.4.1 (2016-07-15)

Simplified Chinese

Hardback+CD edition (???????????8?) (ISBN 978-7-100-10527-9): 1 revision, 1 impression.

1st impression (2014-06-01)

Hardback large print edition (???????????8????) (ISBN 978-7-100-11095-2):

1st impression (2016-01-??)

iOS edition (??????????(?8?)): Published by The Commercial Press (Beijing), Ltd. Supports iOS 8.0 or above.

1.3 (iOS 8.0, 2016-09-23)

Oxford Elementary Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary

Oxford Elementary Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (??????????) is targeted for primary school readers. It was first published in 1998.

Oxford Intermediate Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary

Oxford Intermediate Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (??????????) is targeted for secondary school readers. It was first published in 2001.

Oxford Learner's Thesaurus A dictionary of synonyms

1st edition: Based on the English OLT 1st edition. Simplified Chinese version was published by The Commercial Press (Beijing).

standard edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's Thesaurus A dictionary of synonyms/????????????????) (ISBN 978-7-100-10526-2): 1 revision, 1 impression.

1st impression (2014-04-??)

large print edition (Oxford Advanced Learner's Thesaurus A dictionary of synonyms/????????????????) (ISBN 978-7-100-09707-9): 1 revision, 1 impression.

1st impression (2013-08-??/2013-10-??)

English-French dictionaries

Dictionnaire Oxford Poche pour apprendre l'anglais (français-anglais / anglais-français)

1st edition:

Paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-431528-2/ISBN 978-0-19-431528-9)

1st? impression (2006-03-02)

English-Greek dictionaries

Oxford English-Greek Learner's Dictionary

1st edition:

hardback edition (ISBN 0-19-431242-9/ISBN 978-0-19-431242-4)

1st? impression (1999-01-01)

2nd edition:

hardback edition (ISBN 978-0-19-432567-7)

1st? impression (2007-12-20)

Oxford Greek-English Learner's Dictionary

Revised edition:

hardback edition (ISBN 978-0-19-432568-4)

1st? impression (2008-07-15)

Oxford Learner's Pocket Dictionary (English-Greek / Greek-English)

4th edition: Includes 60000 headwords in both parts.

paperback edition (ISBN 978-0-19-431279-0)

1st? impression (1990-??-??)

English-Korean dictionaries

Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Korean Dictionary (???? ????): Published by Foreign Language Limited.

? edition: Based on English OALD 7th edition by Sally Wehmeier.

ISBN 0-194-00114-8/ISBN 978-0-194-00114-4 (softback with hard case, 2009-03-01)
? (paperback(vinyl?), 2009-01-01)

English-Portuguese Dictionaries

Dicionário Oxford Escolar para estudantes brasileiros de inglês (Português-Inglês / Inglês-Português)

2nd edition: Includes Acordo Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa spelling changes. Includes over 68,000 words, phrases, and examples; 78,000 translations, full-colour photo pages, usage notes.

iOS edition (ISBN 0-19-433151-2/ISBN 978-0-19-433151-7)
Paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-441950-9/ISBN 978-0-19-441950-5)

1st? impression (2009-09-17)

Dicionário Oxford Pocket para estudantes de Inglês (Português-Inglês / Inglês-Português)

2nd edition: Includes Acordo Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa spelling changes. CD-ROM includes the full text of the dictionary, extra illustrations, and the Oxford Wordfinder dictionary to build and extend vocabulary.

Paperback+CD-ROM edition (ISBN 0-19-430124-9/ISBN 978-0-19-430124-4)

1st? impression (2009-12-17)

English-Spanish Dictionaries

Diccionario Oxford Escolar para estudiantes mexicanos de inglés (español-inglés / inglés-español)

2nd edition

Paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-430897-9/ISBN 978-0-19-430897-7):

1st? impression (2009-03-15)

Diccionario Oxford Escolar para estudiantes de inglés (español-inglés / inglés-español)

1st edition

Paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-431539-8/ISBN 978-0-19-431539-5):

1st? impression (2001-06-07)

2nd edition

Paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-430898-7/ISBN 978-0-19-430898-4):

1st? impression (2009-01-01)

Diccionario Oxford Pocket para estudiantes de inglés

4th edition: Includes 69,000 words, expressions and examples with 700 new words, phrases, and translations; over 30 new usage notes, 24-page full-colour Photo Dictionary, new 'I can talk about...' pages, new communication section. CD-ROM includes pronunciation of all English headwords in British and American English, a Topic Dictionary for vocabulary building (62 topics), a Picture Dictionary with hundreds of illustrations (including videos), interactive exercises, Genie instant look-up facility. App version supports real voice (not text to speech) audio, screen customization via My View.

Android version (ISBN 978-0-19-441933-8):
iOS edition (ISBN 978-0-19-441932-1): Published by Oxford University Press ELT.

Version 1.3 (iOS 7.0, 2014-10-17): iOS 6 support was dropped.

Print+CD-ROM version (ISBN 978-0-19-441927-7):

?th impression (2011-??-??)

Diccionario Oxford Pocket para estudiantes latinoamericanos de inglés

1st edition: Includes 72,000 words, expressions and examples; over 61,000 translations, 700 usage notes on grammar, culture, and difficult or confusing words and phrases; 'I can talk about...' pages, communication section, study pages. Vocabulary includes words, phrases, and translations in modern Latin American Spanish and American and British English. CD-ROM includes the full text of the dictionary, pronunciation of all English headwords in American and British English, a Topic Dictionary, a Picture Dictionary, exercises, games, the Genie instant look-up facility, iGuide, voice recorder.

Paperback+CD-ROM edition (ISBN 0-19-433733-2/ISBN 978-0-19-433733-5):

1st? impression (2013-10-31)

English-Vietnamese Dictionaries

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary with Vietnamese Translation (T? ?i?n song ng? Anh-Vi?t OALD 8th ED): Published by Tre Publishing House. Based on English OALD 8th edition.

Hardback edition (ISBN 999-6-04-1055424)
Paperback edition (ISBN 978-6-04-1055421)

Maps Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

History

The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, previously entitled the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, started life as the Idiomatic and Syntactic Dictionary, edited by Albert Sydney Hornby. It was first published in Japan in 1942. It then made a perilous wartime journey to Britain where it came under the wing of OUP, which decided it would be the perfect counterpart for the prestigious OED.

A. S. Hornby was a teacher of English studies at a small college in Japan; he had gone there in 1923 to teach literature, but his experiences in the classroom drew his attention to the need for sound principles of language teaching. At that time Harold E. Palmer headed the Institute for Research into English Teaching in Tokyo, and in 1931 he invited Hornby to work on vocabulary development at the Institute. The result of this was the Idiomatic and Syntactic Dictionary, published by Kaitakusha in 1942. A year before publication, Hornby had managed to send an advance copy in sheets of the book to B. Ifor Evans at the British Council, a tough feat during the war. Ifor Evans offered him a job, and in 1942 Hornby came back to Britain and joined the Council, which posted him to Iran.

The sheets reached Humphrey S. Milford, then publisher to the University of Oxford and effectively OUP's managing director. Milford saw immediately that the dictionary could fill a troublesome gap in the Press's lists, since it was compiled for non-English speakers and rested on Hornby's solid experience in teaching the language overseas. Thus it explained spelling, grammar, phonetics, and usage much more extensively than would a dictionary for native English speakers. With the cachet of the Press to promote it, it could take the "Oxford dictionary" brand to readerships that might be intimidated or puzzled by the more magisterial OED.

But the command economy of World War II under which all British publishers were then operating posed a problem: everything was in short supply, and Milford appealed to the British Council for help in getting the paper and cloth. He referred the matter to E.C. Parnwell, who was looking after the Press's overseas projects, Milford being by then too unwell to manage the Press without substantial assistance, as he had been doing since 1904.

Hornby had brought with him the world rights to the book excluding Japan and China; Kenneth Sisam, then Secretary to the Delegates of the Press, gave a favourable report to the Delegates on the book. Milford also cleverly used the current state of hostility with Japan to push for a subsidy from the British Council, although all he actually said was that "the Japanese are very cheap producers" and were likely to capture the market.

The book had more than 1,500 pages and for an edition of 10,000 copies would need ten tons of paper. Milford applied for a special release to acquire this paper "in the direct interest of British culture and overseas trade, particularly in the non-sterling areas". He had adequate paper stock to begin the edition but this was all earmarked for "essential reprints" and he could only use it if replacements were guaranteed. Milford's niece, Eleanor M. Booker, was now working at the India Office, and he lobbied for paper through her.

Finally the book came out between 1943 and 1948 and became an instant success. Today it is one of the most used resources by learners of the English language worldwide.

The book is useful for all competitive exams.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary - Wikipedia

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Notes

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 8th edition - Download

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External links