The Australian National Dictionary Australian Words and Their Origins - 2 Volumes A-L and M-Z

by Moore, Bruce

• ISBN13: 9780195550269
• ISBN10: 0195550269
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-12-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Australian National Dictionary (AND) is a dictionary of Australianisms. It includes words and meanings that have originated in Australia, that have a greater currency within Australia than elsewhere, or that have a special significance in Australian history. Whereas the first edition of the dictionary, published in 1988, contained about 10,000 headwords, compounds, idioms, and derivatives, this second edition contains over 16,000.

The AND differs from general dictionaries in being based on historical principles, in the manner of the comprehensive Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The aim of AND2 is to chart the historical development of Australian words the definitions begin with the oldest sense and move through to the most recent sense. As part of this history, it includes all obsolete words and all obsolete senses; because it is concerned with the complete history of a word, the historical dictionary places more emphasis on the etymology of a word than does the general dictionary.

The Australian National Dictionary is the only comprehensive, historically based record of the words and meanings that make up Australian English. It is a unique lexical map of Australian history and culture.

Author Biography

Dr. Bruce Moore is a former Director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre (1994-2011). He has edited a number of OUP dictionaries, including the Australian Oxford Dictionary. His books on Australian English include Gold! Gold! Gold! A Dictionary of the Nineteenth-century Australian Gold Rushes (2000), Speaking Our Language: The Story of Australian English (2008), and What's Their Story? A History of Australian words (2010).

This second edition of the Australian National Dictionary was produced at the Australian National Dictionary Centre at the Australian National University. The Centre, established in 1988, is a joint venture of the Australian National University and Oxford University Press Australia and New Zealand.