wikipedia.org/wiki article American Heritage Dictionary

James Parton, the publisher (and co-owner) of the history magazine American Heritage, was appalled by the permissiveness of Webster’s Third, published in 1961, and tried to buy the G. and C. Merriam Company so he could undo the changes. When that failed, he contracted with Houghton to publish a new dictionary. The AHD was edited by William Morris and relied on a usage panel of 105 writers, speakers, and eminent persons chosen for their well-known conservatism in the use of language. However, Morris made inconsistent use of the panels, often ignoring their advice and inserting his own opinions.

The first edition appeared in 1969

The first edition’s concise successor, The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition was published in 1982 (without a larger-format version). It omitted the Indo-European etymologies,

but they were reintroduced in the third full edition, published in 1992. The third edition was also a departure for the publisher because it was developed in a database, which facilitated the use of the linguistic data for other applications, such as electronic dictionaries.

The fourth edition (2000, reissued in 2006) added an appendix of Semitic language etymological roots, and included color illustrations, and was also available with a CD-ROM edition in some versions. This revision was larger than a typical desk dictionary but smaller than Webster’s Third New International Dictionary or the unabridged Random House Dictionary of the English Language. A lower-priced college edition, also the fourth, was issued in black-and-white printing and with fewer illustrations, in 2002 (reprinted in 2007 and 2010).

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Hardcover – 1969

by William Morris (Editor)

        Publisher: American Heritage Publishing Co./ Houghton Mifflin; 1st edition (1969)
        ISBN-10: 0395090644
        ISBN-13: 978-0395090640
        ASIN: B000H1EKD0

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language - 1992

        ISBN 10: 0395448956 / ISBN 13: 9780395448953
        Published by Houghton Mifflin (T), 1992 
        Edition: 3rd Edition.

The American Heritage Dictionary: Fourth Edition (21st Century Reference)

        The American Heritage Dictionary: Fourth Edition (21st Century Reference)
        Houghton Mifflin Company
        ISBN 10: 0385335768 / ISBN 13: 9780385335768 
        Publication Date: 2001
        Edition: 4 Edition.

        The American Heritage Dictionary: Fourth Edition (21st Century Reference)
        Houghton Mifflin Company
        ISBN 10: 0440237017 / ISBN 13: 9780440237013
        Published by Dell, 2001

The Random House Dictionary of the English Language - The Unabridged Edition

        The Random House Dictionary of the English Language - The Unabridged Edition
        ISBN 10: 0394471768 / ISBN 13: 9780394471761
        Published by Random House Reference, 1966

Web Links

andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch A Guide to Eighteenth-Century English Vocabulary by Jack Lynch - 14 April 2006

Jack Lynch likes American Heritage Dictionary.

Jack Lynch recommends:

        Samual Johnson - Dictionary of the Enlish Language - 1755
        Edward Phillips - New World of Words - 1658
        Francis Grose - A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue - 1784

lexilogos.com/english article Early Modern English dictionary (16th-18th)

lexilogos.com/english article Late Modern English dictionary (18th-20th)

lexilogos.com/english article English dictionary

American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster, 1828 edition
The Century Dictionary (American, 1881) dictionary & encyclopedia: 500 000 meanings

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