This day in history: The Oxford Dictionary defines itself Nourhan SandoukFebruary 1, 2026 at 2:56 AM 0 On February 1, 1884, the very first part of what would become the most famous dictionary in history was published. It was called a fascicle essentially a small, thin volume covering words from A to Ant. While it might seem like a small start, it was the beginning of a massive project that would take decades to finish. The first volume fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was launched as part of a massive project by the Philological Society of London that began in 185.
- - This day in history: The Oxford Dictionary defines itself
Nourhan SandoukFebruary 1, 2026 at 2:56 AM
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On February 1, 1884, the very first part of what would become the most famous dictionary in history was published. It was called a fascicle essentially a small, thin volume covering words from A to Ant. While it might seem like a small start, it was the beginning of a massive project that would take decades to finish.
The first volume fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was launched as part of a massive project by the Philological Society of London that began in 185. After receiving support from the Oxford University Press in 1879, lexicographer James A. H. Murray led the project, which aimed to comprehensively document the English language, and was completed with the final volume in 1928, with the full set later being reprinted as the first Oxford English Dictionary.
The dictionary has undergone numerous updates and revisions as the English language has been evolving, a second edition was released in 1989 and the first CD-ROM edition in 1992.
Before the publication of the OED, the English language lacked a single, authoritative guide. Rules for spelling, meanings, and usage were based mostly on the customs of the time and how people used it. This left a lot of room for personal preference and regional differences, which could make the language difficult to master.
This project introduced a new level of consistency and standardization to both written and spoken English. By providing clear rules for the first time, the OED helped make the language easier to learn and to understand. Today, it remains one of the world's leading authorities on the English language.
James Murray who worked as the editor of the OED. used to work in a small iron building called a "Scriptorium,", as they started he thought the whole project would take around ten years and fill four volumes. After five years of hard work, Murray and his team had only reached the word "Ant."
James Murray dedicated his life to the dictionary, working on it until he died in 1915.
Finally, in April 1928, the last volume was completed. Instead of the original four volumes they planned, the finished set had over 15,000 pages and defined more than 400,000 words. Later, this entire collection was reprinted and officially named the Oxford English Dictionary.
In 1984, Oxford University Press began a massive five-year, multi-million-dollar project to create an electronic version of the dictionary. This task required 120 people just to type out the print pages and 50 proofreaders to verify the accuracy of the work. Following this transition to digital, the online version of the OED has been active since 2000.
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Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 01, 2026 at 06:36AM on Source: PRIME TIME
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