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. This 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.

Scrabble

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 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
A minimalist online interface to Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary
Chambers Dictionary History and Trivia including some of the famous "Chambersisms"
Chambers 21st Century Dictionary

Dictionaries of English

Old and Middle English	An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Dict. of Old English Middle English Dictionary

Historic	Edward Phillips' (1658) John Kersey's (1702) Nathan Bailey's (1721) Samuel Johnson's (1755) Noah Webster's (1828) Century (1889–91)

American English	American Heritage Dict. of American English Dict. of American Regional English Imperial Dictionary New Oxford American Oxford American Random House Webster's Webster's New World Webster's Third New International World Book Dictionary

British English	Chambers Collins Oxford English, Concise Oxford English, Shorter Oxford English, Historical Thesaurus, Oxford Dictionary of English Penguin

Canadian English	List of Canadian English dictionaries

Australian English	Australian National Australian Oxford Macquarie

Online	Wiktionary Collaborative International Dict. of English OmegaWiki Urban Dictionary Wordnik

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

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Chambers Dictionary

Scrabble

See also

References

External links