Sales of the third edition of the vast tome have fallen due to the increasing popularity of online alternatives, according to its publisher.
A team of 80 lexicographers has been working on the third edition of the OED – known as OED3 – for the past 21 years.
The dictionary’s owner, Oxford University Press (OUP), said the impact of the internet means OED3 will probably appear only in electronic form.
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The next full edition is still estimated to be more than a decade away from completion; only 28 per cent has been finished to date.
OUP said it would continue to print the more familiar Oxford Dictionary of English, the single-volume version sold in bookshops...
Despite its worldwide reputation, the OED has never made a profit. The continuing research costs several million pounds a year. “These are the sort of long-term research projects which will never cover their costs, but are something that we choose to do,” Mr [Nigel] Portwood [the chief executive of OUP].
If you've never used the electronic version of the OED on the web, find a library that offers it (many offer remote access) and give it a go. An amazing resource and a great example of the power of hypertext.
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