Search Guide to OED Online

What is the OED?
The OED is a searchable online version of the Oxford English Dictionary and contains the complete text of the second edition of the twenty-volume set and the three volumes of additions. It is updated quarterly. The OED is currently being revised and the third edition is expected by 2010.

How to Access OED
On the library's home page ( http://library.scsu.ctstateu.edu ), select "Online Databases". On the Database page, select "alphabetical list" and then click on the letter "O", or scroll down the list of databases until you get to "Oxford English Dictionary". Select the link to get to OED's home page. On OED's home page, click on the Enter OED Online button to begin searching the database.

Searching OED
Enter the search term in the search box provided at the top right of the welcome page, and click on the magnifying glass. A word search finds OED main entries only, which include definitions, spellings, etymology, and example of usage over time illustrated by quotations wherever possible.
Alternatively, click on the Search button available at the bottom left of each page. A full-text search finds any word or phrase anywhere in the OED text.
Example: You can search for phrases beginning with "hot as a" in full-text. The default list is in alphabetical order. Selecting List by Date gives a chronological listing.

Quotation Author Searching
Quotation author searching finds authors who have been quoted in the OED. Click on the "search" button at the bottom of the page and select quotation author from the pull-down menu on the full text line.

The Result Screen
The Result screen displays the edition and publication date of the entry. A button links to entries in the new third edition when available.

Buttons for Pronunciation, Spellings (alternative and historical), Etymology , Quotations, and Date Chart are provided on the top of the screen. The Date Chart shows the age and development of the word searched.

At the bottom of the screen are links for Search (which opens the full-text search window), List by Entry (where the words that precede and follow the current entry in the printed dictionary are listed), List by Date (where the current entry can be seen within a chronological setting allowing users to view the words that entered the language in the same year; clicking on any of those words links to the entries for them.), and Entry Map (displaying the outline of the entry to aid navigation for long, complicated definitions).

Wildcards
? represents a single character.
      Example: w?n will retrieve wan, win, won, etc.
          Ban? will retrieve bank, band, bane
*represents any number of characters.
      Example: f*t will retrieve fit, fist, filbert, fittest, etc.
          libr* will retrieve library, libraries, librarians.

Printing Results
It is not possible to select items for printing, downloading, or emailing.

To print search results, click on Print.in the lower right corner of the display screen. The text will appear in a new browser. Select the print option from the browser menu to print results. Close the window to return to the display screen.

Emailing Search Results
Click on Mail in the lower right corner of the display screen. Enter complete email address in both FROM: and To : email boxes. Click on Mail at the bottom of the page. Close the box and return to the original screen.

Downloading Search Results
Insert formatted floppy disk into "A" drive. Click on print in the lower right corner of the screen. Text will appear in a new browser. Click on File and select Save as.. Enter disk drive and file name (up to 8 characters). Click on Save .

Exiting OED Online
To exit OED, click on SIGN OUT in the bottom right corner.

Citing OED Online
Citing entry from Second Edition:
"plough, n. 2" Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J.A. Simpson and E.S.C. Weiner. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989. OED Online Oxford University Press. 4 Apr. 2000. http://oed.com/cgi/entry/00181778
(The date preceding the URL is the date on which the entry was accessed).

Citing entry from Additions Series: References to entries from the Additions Series should take the same form, "unseasonal, a." Oxford English Dictionary Additions Series. Vols. 1-2. Ed. John Simpson and Edmund Weiner. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993. OED Online Oxford University Press. 15 Mar. 2000. http://oed.com/cgi/entry/00296087
NOTE : the editor for Vol. 3 is Michael Proffitt.

Citing entry from the New Third Edition: "magistrate, n." Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. John Simpson. 3rd.

For additional help, please see a reference librarian.

Winnie Shyam
Librarian, Head of Reference

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