Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary - 2 volume set HAR/CHRT Edition

Yes, the entries in this thesaurus are organized numerically by word concept, and not alphabetically by word. It's not uncommon for a serious tool to require some proper effort and training, and complaining about this reference work being "inconveniently" organized is like complaining about how riding a motorcycle is more complicated than riding a bicycle. Yes, this thesaurus does require a bit of extra work on the user's end, and if this thesaurus had been organized alphabetically, it would be at least twice as long and probably only one-tenth as fascinating.Because holy cow, this thesaurus is freaking incredible. As a reference work, it's not really for learning synonyms, but rather to see how the English language has evolved around concepts over time. Finding novel and interesting words in the OED2 all by itself isn't as easy as it could be, but with this baby by its side, going on a lexical journey is trivial and fascinating. Looking up any single word or concept will unearth words that you didn't know existed, each with their individual nuances or historical differences that can be cross-referenced in the OED2. I can spend (and have spent) many enjoyable hours with this thing, starting with one word or concept and branching out from there. In this format, related concepts precede and succeed each other, so going from one category to the next is as simple as moving on to an adjacent entry.As this thesaurus was specifically derived from the OED 2nd Edition, I regard this as an essential companion to the OED2. This is a grand statement, but an OED2 without this thesaurus is only half as capable as it could be. This thesaurus is what really opens it up and enables the true, incredible scope of the OED2's breadth and depth as a reference. (Because let's admit it, the OED2 isn't really a "dictionary" (as much as this isn't really a "thesaurus"), at least in that looking-up-the-meaning-of-a-weird-word-you-just-found-in-a-magazine-article kind of way. It's more of a philologist's tool, providing a historical lexical tour of the English language. This thesaurus is what really brings that capability to life, by indexing the words orthogonally by concept instead of by alphabet.)If you need a thesaurus because you are looking for a novel adverb in order to avoid using the same word twice in the same sentence, then look elsewhere. There are many other fine thesauruses that are best-suited for that purpose, including those that are organized alphabetically, such as Rodale's "The Synonym Finder". And standing on its own, without an OED2 to complement it, this thesaurus will have limited value, simply because many of the words included within can't be found anywhere else. But if you own an OED2, and if you think it's pretty keen, then your next imperative should be to save up the scratch to get a copy of this thesaurus forthwith. It has a steep price tag, but for even casual scholars of the English language, its value will be recognized immediately.

After reading a review that described this thesaurus as being written in a code of its own, virtually unintelligible, I felt compelled to provide some updated information. When I first received the thesaurus I found looking up words with the provided thematic system of classification somewhat daunting. The Historical Thesaurus of the OED uses a thematic system of classification and is organized into three major sections: I The external world; II The mental world; III The social world. From these broad catagories you can simply narrow down your search into more specific catagories. An example of this structure is 02 The mind ....02.02 Emotion....02.02.22 Love....02.02.22.04 Terms of endearment.... Overall, the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary contains almost 800,000 meanings, organized into more than 236,000 categories and subcategories. The concept is fantastic and if you are having trouble coming up with a synonym the thematic system is very effective albeit somewhat slow.It wasn't until several days into using the thesaurus that I stumbled into the second volume. The entire volume (all 2,109 pages of it) are dedicated to words with references to sections in volume 1 for their synonyms. Volume 1 is the Thesaurus itself, organized according to the semantic categories outlined above, while Volume 2 is an alphabetical Index listing the majority of the synonyms in Volume 1. You can approach the content of the Thesaurus in different ways: either by looking up a single lexical item in the Index and be directed to the appropriate section in the main Thesaurus, or by browsing by semantic category directly, and seeing words in their context of both historical development and the overall organization of meaning.To get a flavor of the workings of the thesaurus and a sample page go to Oxford University Press web site (Sorry but Amazon will not let me insert the link, just think "OED", then search the site for historical thesaurus, then click on the link about "the largest thesaurus in the world" link).I was very hesitant to shell out $$$ for book I didn't know if I would like, but retrospectively I don't regret the purchase and have had a lot of fun with it. I also purchased the CD ROM version 4.0 of the dictionary  Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition, Version 4.0 (Windows & Mac)  and have found it to be equally useful. I believe anyone who found this thesaurus to be an "Indecipherable Code" may not have explored Volume 2. Hope this review helps. dasiberd Obs.Also dasy-, daysy-, dasa-, dose-, dosa-, dossi-, doziberd(e, dosebeirde.[The better form is prob. dasyberd = dazy-beard: see dazy a. inert, dull. Mätzner compares LG. dösbârt, and the same notion appears in Lowland Sc. dulbart, dulbert = dull-beard, dullard.]A stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton. Read more

For a set of books which took 40 plus years to gather, cross-match, assemble, and proofread until it all jelled, you would think, when it finally went to the presses, you would be in receipt of something staggering- and Grand. Well, they Didn't Disappoint.You could spend 20 years, day after day, to the exclusion of Everything else- and still be in as much awe in year 20 as you were in Year One. These books are nothing short of INCREDIBLE. If you want to find out how our languages developed- Read This. If you want to see the progression of a word, it's origins, developed spellings, when it was first used-Read This! If you want to see how meanings changed in a word-across Centuries-- or the spellings and evolution of ideas which Created the word so a Society, Country, or the World proper- could Communicate with more certainty-- this book set will open your eyes and delight and intrigue you. At no time in my life have I Ever seen a look of anticipatory excitement in a 32-year-old, as if he was 10 and going to the Fair, than I have seen in my Son as he immerses himself in re-discovering language in a way he would have Never considered when he was in school. Like a well prepared and served dinner at a fine Restaurant, the Grammatical Delights offered between the covers of these two books--- of this set of works--- will be remembered far, far longer than it's cost.

The text is available on line but the experience of using the tomes is something else. Quite complicated using their long index numbers but the result is a wonderful exploration of the English language over time. Not for everyone but it is one of my prized possessions. Look around the price varies quite a bit.

If you're interested in knowing that a 'honeymoon' was once a 'honeymonth' you will be delighted with this. It is expensive, but good value. The words are not defined, but the date of first usage is given, then subsequent occurrences, with subtle shifts in meaning. It's fascinating to then research what was going on at the time. Lots of changes after the beheading of Charles 1, for example. I spent a full afternoon watching the ways the words for family members evolved. Oddly, there still isn't a word for 'my ex-wife's new husband's children from his first marriage'. Historically, they would be 'cousins'. You can know stuff like that if you own this. It's also attractive to look at.

Such a product cannot be reviewed. If you have the OED then it could be of interest.It exists to fill the needs of those who require a Thesaurus of the OED. If you don't have the OED look elsewhere. There is no other product on a par - but the buyer must be on a par too.

A item to treasure. Extremely interesting books.

A tremendous amount of research must have gone into its production, beautifully bound, a really scholarly production and a must for anyone interested in the history of the English language. Would have given five stars except for the steep learning curve of the indexing system used (not that I can think of any simpler way!) but well worth taking the time and patience to master it. Be prepared to spend many fascinating hours just browsing.