Chambers Dictionary

English language dictionary first published in 1872

The Chambers Dictionary was first published by William and Robert 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]

The dictionary 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 with 62,500 main entries.[3] This edition is available for mobile use as an iPhone, iPad, or Android app. That has been followed by the thirteenth edition published in 2014. 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

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See also: SOWPODS

In an agreement with Mattel's predecessor, J. W. Spear & Sons, the Chambers Dictionary was, for several decades, 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 such as New Zealand and Australia. In 2005, Mattel changed the source dictionary to Collins English Dictionary.

## See also

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* Chambers's Encyclopaedia
* William Chambers
* Robert Chambers
* Chambers Harrap Publishers

## References

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1. ^ 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.
2. ^ 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."
3. ^ Kaminski, Mariusz (2013). A History of the Chambers Dictionary. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 95–96\. ISBN 9783110312737.

## External links

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* Official website
* Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd
* Chambers's Etymological Dictionary of the English Language
* 1st edition, impressions: 1867, 1872, 1874, 1875, 1876.
* 2nd edition, impressions: 1900
* Chambers's English Dictionary (1872)
* Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary
* A 1903 impression
* Chambers Dictionary History and Trivia including some of the famous "Chambersisms"

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Dictionaries of English

Old and Middle English|

* An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary
* Dictionary of Old English
* Middle English Dictionary

Historic|

* Catholicon Anglicum (1483)
* The English Schoole-Master (1596)
* The New World of English Words (1658)
* A New English Dictionary (1702)
* An Universal Etymological English Dictionary (1721)
* Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755)
* Webster's Dictionary (1828)
* Worcester's Dictionary
* Richardson's New Dictionary
* Imperial Dictionary (1847–1850)
* Century Dictionary (1889–1891)
* World Book Dictionary
* Dictionary of American English

British English|

* Chambers
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* Oxford
* OED
* ODE
* Compact
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* Penguin

American English|

* American Heritage
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* Encarta
* New Oxford American
* Random House Webster's
* Webster's New World
* Webster's Third New International

Canadian English|

* Canadian Oxford
* Dictionary of Canadianisms
* Dictionary of Newfoundland English
* Gage Canadian

Australian English|

* Australian National
* Australian Oxford
* Macquarie

Online|

* Collaborative International Dictionary of English
* Urban Dictionary
* Wiktionary
* Wordnik

Learners / ESL|

* Cambridge Advanced Learner's
* Collins COBUILD Advanced
* Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
* Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners
* Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's
* Oxford Advanced Learner's

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