Collection
Publication
Boston : Houghton Mifflin, c2004.
Description
A latest edition of an authoritative college dictionary includes recently prominent terms and new biographical entries as well as updates to such signature feature sections as word history, usage, and living language.
Language
Original language
English
User reviews
LibraryThing member adamallen
It keeps me afloat when I read. It sits by my chair as I read every book so that I can get my head around those complex words like obeisance, agglomeration, trousseau, mawkish, and opprobrium…
Don’t just skim those words for which you don’t have a clear understanding when you read. The
Don’t just skim those words for which you don’t have a clear understanding when you read. The
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meaning you assume to know may be incorrect. Look it up and learn along the way! Show Less
LibraryThing member slackademic
This edition is very special to me because it was awarded by the state of Kansas, and I'm proud to come from a state that gives dictionaries to its honor students. Yes, it includes the word "evolution."
LibraryThing member HoraceSPatoot
The thing I like most about the American Heritage Dictionary is the Usage panel approach, in which a highly literate panel of experts votes on the appropriateness of a particular usage. To be sure, English is an evolving language. That is not to say that we simply hold our standard of speech to an
The usage panel deals with the evolution of language by putting questionable usages to a vote among a group of people whom most users of dictionaries would aspire to be on a par with.
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all-accepting level simply because the common man has started to talk in a particular way; after all, good grammar and usage are not about being understood, they are about being understood to be educated.The usage panel deals with the evolution of language by putting questionable usages to a vote among a group of people whom most users of dictionaries would aspire to be on a par with.
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LibraryThing member Audacity88
A solid dictionary, with sufficient coverage of obscure words and etymologies.
LibraryThing member carterchristian1
One of the things I like about this dictionary in addition to the usage panel are the excellent pictures.
LibraryThing member Big_Bang_Gorilla
As an older edition, this is unlikely to be bought very widely, but I'll pass along a snippet I read in a historical review of the publication, which is that the justly-renowned "usage panel" was at a low ebb for this edition. Earlier and later editions are better for that useful feature.