Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

[Paul Mackin]

On May 3, 2007, at 2:35 PM, Ya Sam wrote:

> It goes without saying that OED is the best companion when hunting  
> down obscure words in Pynchon but it is unlikely that I'll ever get  
> the 20 volume set. Hence my question: Does anyone here have the 2  
> volume SOED? Is it enough for you when reading logomaniac authors,  
> would you recommend it?


Well, I just used the SOED this morning to check on when the word  
'preterition' (Pynchon's springboard to his 'poor preterite souls')  
was first used in a theological sense.

That all it told me was L17 (late 17th Century)  illustrates a  
weakness in the shorter version of the OED.

The full OED would have pinned the time down more precisely.  Would  
probably even have provided a quotation.

P.