Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Dictionary of Old English
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The dictionary was conceived in 1968 as a replacement for the Bosworth–Toller <i><a href="/facts/An_Anglo-Saxon_Dictionary/K2tH9zfy">Anglo-Saxon Dictionary</a></i>, which had been compiled at a time when both the study of the Old English language and lexicographical techniques were less advanced.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> From the outset, the editors were interested in the potential application of computer technology to the task of compiling the dictionary, and in basing the dictionary text on a corpus. A dictionary plan was published in 1973.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> It was originally anticipated that work on the dictionary would begin in 1976 and the dictionary would begin appearing in fascicles shortly thereafter.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>The first fascicle was not published until 1986, and covered words beginning with the letter D.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> The letter G was reached in 2008.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> As of March 2015<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dictionary_of_Old_English&action=edit">[update]</a> the entries for 8 of the 24 letters of the <a href="/facts/Old_English_Latin_alphabet/WRGTEmps">Old English alphabet</a>, A-H were published, with over 60% of the total entries written.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> The letter I was released in September 2018.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="availability">Availability</h2> <p>The dictionary is available in 3 formats:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <ul><li><a href="https://doe.utoronto.ca/pages/index.html#pub/web-dict"><i>Dictionary of Old English</i>: A to I online</a> This site offers a limited number of free searches per year, then charges apply. Registration is required.</li> <li><a href="https://doe.utoronto.ca/pages/index.html#pub/cd-dict"><i>Dictionary of Old English</i>: A to H on CD-ROM</a></li> <li><a href="https://doe.utoronto.ca/pages/index.html#publications"><i>Dictionary of Old English</i>: A to G on microfiche</a></li></ul> <p>The corpus is available in 2 formats: </p> <ul><li><a href="https://doe.utoronto.ca/pages/index.html#pub/web-corpus"><i>Dictionary of Old English</i> Web Corpus</a></li> <li><a href="https://doe.utoronto.ca/pages/index.html#pub/corpus"><i>Dictionary of Old English</i> in Electronic Form</a></li></ul> <p>The computerized corpus (old version) is available to download on request from the University of Oxford Text Archive, free for use in education and research: </p> <ul><li><a href="http://www.ota.ox.ac.uk/desc/2488"><i>Dictionary of Old English</i> Corpus in Electronic Form (DOEC)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://doe.utoronto.ca">Official website</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVc84pC9OEE">An animated clip highlighting Old English and the DOE</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJztLQg07lY">A clip created by University of Toronto featuring editors and students</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/In-memory-of-Angus-Cameron-213849301980118/">In memory of Angus Cameron</a></li> <li><a href="http://alumni.artsci.utoronto.ca/supporting-the-doe/">Put Your Own Stamp on the Dictionary of Old English</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181130032121/https://alumni.artsci.utoronto.ca/supporting-the-doe/">Archived</a> 2018-11-30 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>About the Dictionary of Old English <a href="http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/about.html" target="_blank">http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/about.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>About the Dictionary of Old English <a href="http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/about.html" target="_blank">http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/about.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Elena Matas and Emma Duffee, 'An Interview with DOE Editors Robert Getz and Stephen Pelle' (27 November 2018). <a href="https://dictionaryofoldenglish.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/an-interview-with-drafting-editors-robert-getz-and-stephen-pelle" target="_blank">https://dictionaryofoldenglish.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/an-interview-with-drafting-editors-robert-getz-and-stephen-pelle</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>About the Dictionary of Old English <a href="http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/about.html" target="_blank">http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/about.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Leyerle, John (1971). ""The Dictionary of Old English": A Progress Report". Computers and the Humanities. 5 (5): 279–283. doi:10.1007/BF02402209. S2CID 62706149. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Publications of the Dictionary of Old English". Dictionary of Old English. University of Toronto. Retrieved 17 June 2014. <a href="http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/publications.html" target="_blank">http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/publications.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Leyerle, John (1971). ""The Dictionary of Old English": A Progress Report". Computers and the Humanities. 5 (5): 279–283. doi:10.1007/BF02402209. S2CID 62706149. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Publications of the Dictionary of Old English". Dictionary of Old English. University of Toronto. Retrieved 17 June 2014. <a href="http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/publications.html" target="_blank">http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/publications.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Publications of the Dictionary of Old English". Dictionary of Old English. University of Toronto. Retrieved 17 June 2014. <a href="http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/publications.html" target="_blank">http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/publications.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"The Dictionary of Old English, the letter H". University of Toronto. 2016. <a href="https://artscieffect.utoronto.ca/features-2016/the-dictionary-of-old-english-the-letter-h/" target="_blank">https://artscieffect.utoronto.ca/features-2016/the-dictionary-of-old-english-the-letter-h/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"UofT Dictionary of Old English". CBC News. 7 January 2017. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/uoft-dictionary-of-old-english-1.3924775" target="_blank">https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/uoft-dictionary-of-old-english-1.3924775</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>About the Dictionary of Old English <a href="http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/about.html" target="_blank">http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/pages/about.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Publications of the Dictionary of Old English <a href="https://doe.utoronto.ca/pages/index.html#publications" target="_blank">https://doe.utoronto.ca/pages/index.html#publications</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>