The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a descriptive dictionary of the English l

anguage, published by the Oxford University Press.[1] It traces the historical d

evelopment of the English language, providing a comprehensive resource to schola
rs and academic researchers, as well as describing usage in its many variations
throughout the world.[2][3] The second edition came to 21,728 pages in 20 volume
s, published in 1989.
Work began on the dictionary in 1857, but it was not until 1884 that it began to
be published in unbound fascicles as work continued on the project, under the n
ame of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; Founded Mainly on the
Materials Collected by The Philological Society. In 1895, the title The Oxford E
nglish Dictionary (OED) was first used unofficially on the covers of the series,
and in 1928 the full dictionary was republished in ten bound volumes. In 1933,
the title The Oxford English Dictionary fully replaced the former name in all oc
currences in its reprinting as twelve volumes with a one-volume supplement. More
supplements came over the years until 1989, when the second edition was publish
ed. Since 2000, a third edition of the dictionary has been underway, approximate
ly a third of which is now complete.
The first electronic version of the dictionary was made available in 1988. The o
nline version has been available since 2000, and as of April 2014 was receiving
over two million hits per month. The third edition of the dictionary will probab
ly only appear in electronic form; Nigel Portwood, chief executive of Oxford Uni
versity Press, feels it unlikely that it will ever be printed.[4][5]