The Chambers Dictionary [antikvár]

PrefaceThis is the first edition of The Chambers Dictionary to be published in the twenty-first century, a significant fact considering that when the dictionary was first published, in 1901, it was entitled Chambers'sTwentieth Century Dictionary The fact that the bool< has now outlived the century of its original title is a testament to its perennial appeal. One reason for this longevity is its distinctive approach: Chambers has not only secured the trust of its users with its comprehensive coverage of English, but has also delighted them by including more than its share of unusual words and throwing in a sprinkling of humorous and playful definitions. This combination has given Chambers a reputation for being "The Word Lover's Dictionary".In the lexicographical landscape of the twenty-first century, The Chambers Dictionary stands out like a baroque mansion in a city of faceless concrete. While other single-volume dictionaries concentrate on describing the familiar language of our times, only Chambers provides the contemporary user with information on the unfamiliar: the words they may come across in our literary heritage; words from the past as well as the present; unusual words as well as commonly heard ones; words from the different dialects of English; fascinating words with the power to surprise and amuse.We hope that users who are already familiar with the dictionary will find that this new edition retains its traditional appeal.We have pursued a policy of retaining all words listed in the previous edition (although we have taken the opportunity to remove some abbreviations that are no longer current). So the dictionary remains a treasure-house of strange and wonderful words. However, we have also taken steps to make the book accessible to the word lovers of the modern age by subjecting the entire dictionary to a thorough revision. Earlier editions assumed that readers would have more leisure to acquaint themselves with intricate patterns of arranging entries than may be the case today. We have attempted to make the dictionary's structure more transparent by clarifying the way that entries are arranged. Earlier editions used in their definitions some words that are no longer widely understood. We have removed obsolete and opaque language from definitions. Earlier editions assumed that readers would have a familiarity with a canon of literature that is alien to many modern readers. We have clarified references to less familiar works and provided notes (as part of the supplement at the back of the book) on all of the authors mentioned in classification labels.Yet while we are keen to preserve the treasures of the past, we have no wish to fossilize the English language. This new edition reflects the full richness of contemporary language, including around 10,000 new words and meanings. As ever, the new words and meanings in the dictionary provide a measure of the way that language is expanding to take account of new social and cultural trends: new arrivals such as dotcom, webcam and silver surfer indicate the influence that the computer continues to have on our language, while ringtone, SIM card and WAP are attributable to the ubiquitous mobile phone; new modes of entertainment have occasioned the inclusion of docusoap and featurette; the explosion of interest in food and drink from around the world has caused items such as baba ghanouzh, panini and clafoutis to become assimilated into English. These are just some of the more familiar words to have entered the dictionary in this edition. In the course of this updating, we have also - as readers of the new definitions for mullet and boy band (among others) may surmise - maintained the dictionary's tradition of sprinkling the occasional light-hearted definition into the mix.We hope that this major revision of the dictionary consolidates its existing strengths while bringing it up to date for a twenty-first-century readership.