Factfile

1 The Oxford English Dictionary’s first Editor was James Murray, who was appointed in 1879 to put together the very first edition of the publication.

2

The first edition was planned to take 10 years to complete, but by five years in they had only reached the word “ant”. It was a bigger job than they had thought!

3

The latest edition of the Dictionary (Jan 2018) included more than 1,100 new words, senses and subentries.

4

The last full printed edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published in 1989. The online edition is now accessed by students, academics and users all over the world.