The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English

1008 Pages·1999·252.98 MB·English

by  Frank R. Abate

ofCurrent English
More than 175,000 entries and definitions
Over 200 illustrations; hundreds ofword histories
and usage notes
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usa Six9S
THE
Oxford
American
Dictionary
of
Current
English
THE
Oxford
American
Dictionary
of
Current
English
NewYork Oxford
Oxford University Press
1999
Oxford University Press
NewYork Oxford
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Copyright © 1999 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
198 Madison Avenue, NewYork, NewYork 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark ofOxford University Press.
All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission ofOxford University Press.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The OxfordAmerican dictionary ofcurrent English,
p. cm.
ISBN 0-19-513374-9 (he alk. paper)
: —
1. English language Dictionaries. 2. English language United
States Dictionaries. 3. Americanisms Dictionaries.
PE1628.08617 1999
423—dc21 99-39972
CIP
This book includes some words that are, or are asserted to be, proprietary names or
trademarks.Their inclusion does not imply that they have acquired for legal purposes
a nonproprietary or general significance, nor is any other judgment implied concern-
ing their legal status. In cases where the editor has some evidence that a word is used
as a proprietary name or trademark this is indicated by the designation trademark, but
no judgment concerning the legal status ofsuch words is made or implied thereby.
5 7 9 8 6
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
on acid-free paper
Contents
Preface vi
How to UseThis Dictionary vii
Key to Pronunciation xii
The OxfordAmerican Dictionary ofCurrent English 1-950
Biographical Entries 951
Geographical Entries 967
Special Reference Appendices: 985
Presidents ofthe United States ofAmerica 986
States ofthe United States ofAmerica 987
StandardWeights and Measures with Metric Equivalents 988
Conversion from Standard to Metric Measurements 989
MetricWeights and Measures with Standard Equivalents 990
Conversion from Metric to Standard Measurements 991
Chemical Elements 992
Countries oftheWorld 993
Preface
The OxfordAmerican Dictionary ofCurrent English covers an extensive range ofcontemporary
American Englishvocabulary.The textwas speciallycompiledforthis editionbyOxford'sU.S.
Dictionaries Program,in keepingwiththe renowned lexicographic tradition ofOxfordUniver-
sity Press. Oxford's unrivaled language research, including the NorthAmerican Reading Pro-
gram (NARP),constantlymonitorsgrowth and change inAmericanEnglish. Usingcomputer-
izedsearch-and-analysistoolsdevelopedoriginallyforthe20-volume OxfordEnglishDictionary,
ourAmerican lexicographers can quickly explore more than 45 million words ofcitation text
collected byNARP, and consult many other massive English language databases.The result is
a more sharply refined picture ofthe language oftoday, elucidating many complex aspects of
meaning, grammar, and usage.
This dictionary reflects the scholarly guidance ofOxford's academic advisors, as well as the
experience ofspecialist consultants in many fields ofendeavor. And with the Internet and the
WorldWideWeb,Oxfordlexicographersarenowabletostayindailycontactwithexpertsources
worldwide, receiving answers to their queries almost instantly.
The text is accompanied by hundreds ofexamples, illustrations, usage notes, and word his-
tories that clarify definitions and provide guidance on the subtleties ofappropriate usage. Bio-
graphical and geographical sections in the back ofthe book offer essential information on the
key people and places ofthe world. Finally, special reference appendices provide quick-refer-
ence information for a variety ofsubjects that are offrequent interest.
The OxfordAmerican Dictionary ofCurrentEnglish is an excellent choice forbusiness people,
students, and all those who wish to use English with clarity and style.With its attention to ac-
curacy,—currency, and thoroughness, this new American dictionary builds on the tradition of
Oxford the world's most trusted name in dictionaries.
Frank R.Abate
EditorinChief,U.S.Dictionaries
Oxford University Press, Inc.
Project Staff
Editorin Chief: Frank R.Abate
ManagingEditor: Elizabeth Jewell
J.
Associate Editors: ChristineA. Lindberg
Laurie H. Ongley
Pronunciation Editor: Rima McKinzey
ArtEditor: DeborahArgosy
Illustrator: Mike Malkovas
Proofreaders: Linda Ciacchi
Linda Costa
Archie Hobson
Mark LaFlaur
Katherinc C. Sietscma
Sue EllenThompson
DawnThornton
EditorialAssistants: Karen Fisher
Alexandra Abate
Data Entry: Kimberly Roberts
.
How
to Use This Dictionary
MAIN ENTRIES
1
Eachmainentryisprinted inboldromantype:
ad*um*brate/adumbrayt/v.tr. 1 indicatefaintly.2rep-
resentinoutline. 3foreshadow;typify.4overshadow.
ddad«um«bra»tion/-brayshsn/n.
Mainentriesarearrangedinletter-by-letteralphabeticalorder.Differentwordsthatarespelledthesameway
(homographs) aredistinguishedbyraisednumerals:
font1 /font/n. 1 areceptacle in achurchforbaptismal
water.2the reservoirforoil in alamp.
font2/font/n. Printingasetoftypeofonefaceorsize.
2 PRONUNCIATION
Guidance onthepronunciation ofa main entrywillbe found in mostcases immediately afterthemain entry,
enclosedinobliquestrokes/ /.Insomecases,morethanonepronunciationisgiven:thatgivenfirstisthemore
frequentorpreferredpronunciation. Guidanceonthepronunciationofderivativesofthemainentryislimited
to casesinwhich the main entrypronunciation would be ofno help in establishingthe correctpronunciation
ofthederivative.Thedictionaryusesasimplerespellingsystemtorepresentpronunciation.Thisismeanttobe
self-explanatoryandeasilyreadablebythelaypersonwithoutconstantrecoursetoatableofspecialcharacters.
Fordetails onthepronunciationsymbols,see the"Keyto Pronunciation"below.
3 PARTOFSPEECH
Thegrammatical identityofwordsasnoun,verb,adjective,andsoon,isgivenforallmain entries and deriva-
tives,and forcompounds and phraseswhen necessaryto aid clarity.The same part-of-speech labelingis used
forgroupsofmorethan onewordwhen the grouphasthe function ofaparticularpartofspeech,e.g.,adhoc;
vacuumcleaner.Whenamainentryhasmore than onepartofspeech,a listisgivenatthebeginningoftheen-
try,andthetreatmentofthe successiveparts ofspeech is introducedbyabulletineachcase:
&
ac*ci*den*tal /aksident'l/ adj. n. •adj. 1 happening
by chance or unexpectedly. 2not essential to a con-
ception.•«. 1 Mus.asignindicatingamomentaryde-
parturefromthekeysignature.2somethingnotessen-
tialto aconception, ddac»ci»den»tal«lyadv.
Thestandardpart-of-speechnamesare used,and thefollowingadditional explanations shouldbenoted:
• Nounsused attributivelyare designated attrib. when theirfunction does not include predicative use (e.g.,
modelinamodelstudent;butthestudentisverymodelisnotacceptableusage;seealsoat"Adjectives",next).
• Adjectives are labeled attrib. (= attributive) when they are normally placed before the word they modify
(e.g.,actinginactingmanager),andpredic. (= predicative) whentheynormallyoccur (usuallyafteraverb)
inthepredicateofasentence (e.g.,afraidinhewasafraid).Whenanadjectivecanoccureitherattributive-
lyorpredicatively,the simpledesignationadj. isused.
• The designation absol. (= absolute) refers to uses oftransitiveverbs with an object impliedbut not stated
(asinsmokingkillsandletmeexplain)
• The designation "in comb." (= in combination), or"also in comb." refers to uses ofwords (especially ad-
jectivesandnouns) asanelementjoinedbyahyphentoanotherword,aswithcrested(whichoftenappears
informssuchas red-crested,large-crested) orfooter(as insix-footer).
4 VARIANTS
Variantspellings are given before the definition;in all such cases the form given as the main entry is the pre-
ferredform.Variantformsarealsogivenattheirownplacesinthedictionarywhenthesearethreeormoreen-
triesawayfromthemainform.
Variantspellings givenatthebeginningofanentrynormallyapplytothewhole entry,includinganyphras-
es andundefined derivatives.Whenvariants applyonlyto certainfunctions orsenses ofaword,these are giv-
eninparenthesesattherelevantpointintheentry.
VariantBritish spellings are indicatedbythe designationBrit.Thesevariants are often found in British use
inadditiontoorinsteadofthemainformsgiven.
Pronunciationofvariantsisgivenwhenitdifferssignificantlyfromthepronunciationofthemainentry.
.
How to Use This Dictionary viii
5 INFLECTED FORMS
Inflectedformsofwords (i.e.,plural,pasttenses,etc.) aregiven afterthepartofspeechconcerned:
&
broadcast /brawdkast/ v., n., adj., adv. mv. (past
broadcast or broadcasted;pastpart, broadcast) 1 tr.
atransmit by radio or television, bdisseminate
(information) widely.2intr. undertakeortakepartin
a radio or television transmission. 3tr. scatter (seed,
etc.) over a large area. •n. a radio or television pro-
gramortransmission,•adj. 1 transmittedbyradio or
television. 2widely disseminated. *adv. over a large
area, ddbroad*cast*ern. broad*cast*ing n.
The forms given are normally those in use inAmerican English. Pronunciation ofinflected forms is given
whenitdifferssignificantlyfromthepronunciationofthemainentry.Thedesignation"pronunc. same"denotes
that the pronunciation, despite a change ofform, is the same as that ofthe main entry. In general,the inflec-
tionofnouns,verbs,adjectives,andadverbsisgivenwhenitis irregular (asdescribedfurtherbelow) orwhen,
thoughregular,itcauses difficulty (aswithforms suchas budgeted,coos,andtaxis)
Pluralsofnouns
Nounsthatformtheirpluralregularlybyadding-s(or-eswhentheyendin-5,-x,-z,-sh,orsoft-ch) receiveno
comment. Otherpluralformsaregiven,notablyin caseswherethesingularis anounthat:
• endsin-ior-o.
• endsin-y.
• isaLatinateformendingin-aor-urn,etc.
• hasmorethanonepluralform,e.g.,fish andaquarium.
• has apluralinvolvinga changeinthestem,e.g.,foot,feet.
• has apluralformidenticaltothe singularform,e.g.,sheep.
• endsin-ful,e.g.,handful.
Formsofverbs
Thefollowingverbformsareregarded asregular:
• third person singularpresent tense forms adding-5to the stem,or-esto stems endingin -s, -x, -z, -sh,or
soft-ch (e.g.,bite/bites;pass/passes)
• pasttenses andpastparticiples adding-edtothestem,droppingafinalsilent-e (e.g.,changed;danced).
• presentparticiples adding-ingtothestem,droppingafinalsilent-e (e.g.,changing;dancing).
Otherforms aregiven,notablythosethatinvolve:
• doublingofafinalconsonant,e.g.,bat,batted,batting.
• strongandirregularforms involvinga changeinthe stem,e.g.,come,came,come,andgo,went,gone.
• irregularinflections ofborrowedwords,e.g.,polka'd.
Comparativeand superlativeofadjectivesand adverbs
Wordsofonesyllableadding-eror-estandthoseendinginsilent-edroppingthe -e(e.g.,braver,bravest) are
regarded asregular. Mostone-syllablewords have these forms,butparticipial adjectives (e.g.,pleased) donot.
Thosethatdoubleafinalconsonant (e.g.,hot,hotter,hottest) aregiven,asaretwo-syllablewordsthathavecom-
parativeandsuperlativeformsin-erand-est(ofwhichverymanyareformsendingin-y,e.g.,lucky,luckier,luck-
iest),andtheirnegativeforms (e.g.,unluckier,unluckiest).Itshouldbenotedthatspecificationoftheseformsin-
dicates onlythat they are available; it is usually also possible to form comparatives with moreand superlatives
with most (asin morelucky,mostunlucky),whichisthestandardwayofproceedingwith adjectives and adverbs
thatarenotregularlyinflected.
Adjectives in -ableformedfromtransitiveverbs
Thesearegivenasderivativeswhenthereissufficientevidenceoftheircurrency;ingeneral theyareformed as
follows:
• verbs drop silentfinal -eexcept aftercandg(e.g.,movablebutchangeable).
• verbs ofmore than one syllable ending in -y (preceded by a consonant orqu) change v to / (e.g., tltviabki
undeniable).
• a final consonantisoftendoubled as in normal inflection (e.g.,conferrablc, regrettable).
6 DEFINITION
Definitions are listed in a numbered sequence in orderofrelative familiarity and importance,with the most
current and important senses given first.They are subdivided into lettered senses (a, b, etc.) when thetC lit
closelyrelated orcall forcollective treatment.
ix How to Use This Dictionary
GRAMMAR NOTES
7
Definitions are often accompanied byexplanations inparentheses ofhow theword orphrase in question is
usedincontext. Often,thecommentreferstowordsthatusuallyfollow ("foil,by") orprecede ("prec.by") the
wordbeingexplained:
aocrecHt /akredit/ v.tr. (accredited, accrediting) 1
(foil, by to) attribute (a saying, etc.) to (a person). 2
(foil,bywith) credit(aperson) with (asaying,etc.).3
(usu.foil,bytoorat) send (anambassador,etc.) with
credentials, ddac*cred»hta»tion/-tayshsn/n.
Theformula"foil,byto+ infin."meansthatthewordisfollowedbyanormalinfinitivewithto,asafterwant
inwantedtoleaveand afterreadyin readytoburst.Theformula"foil,bythat+ clause"indicatestheroutinead-
dition ofa clause with that, as after say in said that it was late or after warn in warnedhim that he was late too
often.The formulas "pres.part." and "verbalnoun" denote verbal forms in -ingthat function as adjectives and
nounsrespectively,asinsethimlaughingand tiredofasking.
8 ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Examplesofwordsinusearegiventosupportorclarifythedefinitions.These appearinitalicsfollowingthe
definition, enclosed in parentheses. They are meant to amplify meaning and (especially when following a
grammaticalpoint) illustratehowtheword is used incontext.
9 USAGE AND LABELS
Iftheuseofaword is restrictedinanyway,this is indicated byone ofseveral labels printedinitalics,as ex-
plained inthefollowing.
Geographical labels
USindicates that the use is found chiefly inAmerican English (often including Canada),but not in British
EnglishexceptasaconsciousAmericanism.
Brit, indicatesthatthe useisfoundchieflyin British English (andoftenalsoinAustralian andNewZealand
English,andinotherparts ofthe British Commonwealth),butnottypicallyinAmericanEnglish.
Othergeographicallabels (e.g.,Austral.,NZ,S.Afr.) indicatethatusage is largelyrestrictedtothe areasdes-
ignated.
Theseusagelabelsshouldbedistinguishedfromcommentsofthetype"(intheUK)"precedingdefinitions,
whichdenotethatthe thingdefined isassociatedwiththecountrynamed. Forexample,Parliamentisa British
institution,butthe term isnotrestricted to British English.
Register labels
Levelsofusage,orregisters,are indicated asfollows:
• formalindicatesuses thatarenormallyrestricted toformal (esp. written) English,e.g.,commence.
• colloq. (= colloquial) indicates a use that isnormallyrestricted to informal (esp. spoken) English.
• si. (=slang) indicatesaninformaluse(typicallyawordthatisequivalentinmeaningtoa"standard"word),
unsuitedtowrittenEnglishandoftenrestrictedtoaparticularsocialgroup,whilecoarsesi. isusedtoshow
thatan expression is regarded asvulgarorunacceptable even in spoken use in mostsocial contexts.
• archaicindicates awordthatis obsolete ingeneral useand is restricted tospecial contexts suchas legalor
religioususe,orisusedforspecial effect.
• literaryindicates awordorusethatisfound chieflyin literature.
• poet. (= poetic) indicates usesconfinedtopoetryorothersimilarcontexts.
• joe. (= jocular) indicates usesthatare intended tobehumorous orplayful.
• derog. (= derogatory) denotes uses thatare intentionallydisparaging.
• offens. (= offensive) denotesuses thatcause offense,whetherintentionallyornot.
• disp. (=disputed) indicatesausethatisdisputedorcontroversial.Whenfurtherexplanationisneededaus-
agenote (seebelow) isgivenaswellorinstead.
• hist. (=historical) denotesawordorusethatisconfinedtohistoricalreference,normallybecausethething
referredtono longerexists.
• propr. (= proprietary) denotes a term that is asserted to have the status ofa trademark (see the Note on
ProprietaryStatus,below).
Subjectlabels
Subjectlabels,e.g.,Law,Math.,Nam.,showthatawordorsenseisusedinaparticularfieldofactivity,and
isnotinwidespreadgeneraluse.
Usagenotes
Thesegiveextrainformationnotcentraltothedefinition,andtoexplainpointsofgrammarand style.They
areintroducedbythesymbol .Thepurpose ofthesenotesisnottoprescribe usagebuttoalertthe usertoa
difficultyorcontroversyattachedtoparticularuses.