Chambers Dictionary

The Chambers Dictionary (TCD) was first published by W. and R. Chambers as Chambers's English Dictionary in 1872. It was an expanded version of Chambers's Etymological Dictionary of 1867, compiled by James Donald. A second edition came out in 1898, and was followed in 1901 by a new compact edition called Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary.^[1]

TCD is widely used by British crossword solvers and setters, and by Scrabble players (though it is no longer the official Scrabble dictionary). It contains many more dialectal, archaic, unconventional and eccentric words than its rivals, and is noted for its occasional wryly humorous definitions. Examples of such definitions include those for éclair ("a cake, long in shape but short in duration") and middle-aged ("between youth and old age, variously reckoned to suit the reckoner").^[2] These jocular definitions were removed by the publisher in the 1970s, but many of them were reinstated in 1983 because of the affection in which they were held by readers.

The twelfth edition of The Chambers Dictionary was published in August 2011 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd and runs to 1936 pages. The eleventh edition is available for mobile use as an iPhone and iPad app. Also on sale is the smaller 21st Century Dictionary of 1664 pages, where "the focus is on the English that people use today, and definitions are given in straightforward, accessible language". This dictionary can be accessed for free online.

In an agreement with Mattel the Chambers dictionary was also the official source of words for the book "Official Scrabble Words" (OSW), a lexicon of all words and inflections playable in tournament Scrabble within the UK and other countries like New Zealand and Australia. In 2005 Mattel changed the source dictionary to Collins.

References

^ Words, wit and wisdom: 100 years of the Chambers dictionary, compiled by Ian Brookes, Jamie Nathan and Hazel Norris. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2001. ISBN 0-550-10015-6
^ Manley, Don (2001) [1986]. "The Basic Advanced Cryptic Crossword". Chambers Crossword Manual (Third edition ed.). Edinburgh: Chambers. p. 91. ISBN 0-550-12006-8. "If you pause to read Chambers while solving a puzzle, you may also find some quirky definitions in the best Johnsonian tradition: try ECLAIR and MIDDLE AGE for example."

External links

The Chambers Dictionary
Consult Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, The Chambers Thesaurus or Chambers Biographical Dictionary
Chambers Dictionary History and Trivia including some of the famous "Chambersisms"
Chambers 21st Century Dictionary

Dictionaries of English

Old and Middle English dictionaries	An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary · Dictionary of Old English · Middle English Dictionary

Historic dictionaries	A Dictionary of the English Language · The New World of English Words · A New English Dictionary · An Universal Etymological English Dictionary

Descriptive dictionaries	Oxford English Dictionary · Dictionary of American English · Australian Oxford Dictionary · Canadian Oxford Dictionary · Century Dictionary · Dictionary of American Regional English · Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage · Webster's Third New International Dictionary

Prescriptive dictionaries	The American Heritage Dictionary · Webster's Dictionary · Chambers Dictionary · Collins English Dictionary · New Oxford American Dictionary · Webster's New World Dictionary · Concise Oxford English Dictionary · Macquarie Dictionary · Oxford Dictionary of English · Penguin English Dictionary · Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary · Shorter Oxford English Dictionary · World Book Dictionary

Online dictionaries	Collaborative International Dictionary of English · Corpus of Contemporary American English · Wordnik · Urban Dictionary

Learners/ESL dictionaries	Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary · Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary · Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary · Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English · Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's English Dictionary · Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners

Slang dictionaries	Historical Dictionary of American Slang · A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew · A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English

Chambers Dictionary

See also

References

External links