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Available in 9 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-9" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">9 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language" title="The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Afrikaans</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B3_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AB_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A_%D9%84%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%A9" title="قاموس التراث الأمريكي للغة الإنجليزية – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="قاموس التراث الأمريكي للغة الإنجليزية" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8_%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%9F%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9C_%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A7%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8" title="আমেরিকান হেরিটেজ অভিধান – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="আমেরিকান হেরিটেজ অভিধান" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bar mw-list-item"><a href="https://bar.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Heritage_Dictionary" title="American Heritage Dictionary – Bavarian" lang="bar" hreflang="bar" data-title="American Heritage Dictionary" data-language-autonym="Boarisch" data-language-local-name="Bavarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Boarisch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Heritage_Dictionary" title="American Heritage Dictionary – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="American Heritage Dictionary" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language" title="The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87%D9%86%DA%AF_%D9%88%D8%A7%DA%98%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%B2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%86%DA%AF%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B3%DB%8C_%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D9%86_%D9%87%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AA%DB%8C%D8%AC" title="فرهنگ واژگان زبان انگلیسی امریکن هریتیج – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="فرهنگ واژگان زبان انگلیسی امریکن هریتیج" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link 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</div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to 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their meanings, published by HarperCollins</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:TheAmericanHeritageDictionaryOfTheEnglishLanguage.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3a/TheAmericanHeritageDictionaryOfTheEnglishLanguage.jpg/220px-TheAmericanHeritageDictionaryOfTheEnglishLanguage.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="302" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/TheAmericanHeritageDictionaryOfTheEnglishLanguage.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="268" data-file-height="368" /></a><figcaption>First edition</figcaption></figure> <p><i><b>The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language</b></i> (<i><b>AHD</b></i>) is a dictionary of <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a> published by <a href="/wiki/HarperCollins" title="HarperCollins">HarperCollins</a>. It is currently in its fifth edition (since 2011). </p><p>Before HarperCollins acquired certain business lines from <a href="/wiki/Houghton_Mifflin_Harcourt" title="Houghton Mifflin Harcourt">Houghton Mifflin Harcourt</a> in 2022, the family of American Heritage dictionaries had long been published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and its predecessor Houghton Mifflin. The first edition appeared in 1969, an outgrowth of the editorial effort for Houghton Mifflin's <i>American Heritage</i> brand of history books and journals. The dictionary's creation was spurred by the controversy during the 1960s over the perceived permissiveness of the <i><a href="/wiki/Webster%27s_Third_New_International_Dictionary" title="Webster's Third New International Dictionary">Webster's Third New International Dictionary</a></i> (1961). A college dictionary followed several years later. The main dictionary became the flagship title as the brand grew into a family of various dictionaries, a dictionary-thesaurus combination, and a <a href="/wiki/Usage_(language)" title="Usage (language)">usage</a> guide. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>James Parton (1912–2001) was a grandson of the English-born American biographer <a href="/wiki/James_Parton" title="James Parton">James Parton</a> (1822–1891). He was the founder, publisher and co-owner of the magazines <i><a href="/wiki/American_Heritage_(magazine)" title="American Heritage (magazine)">American Heritage</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Horizon_(U.S._magazine)" title="Horizon (U.S. magazine)">Horizon</a></i>, and was appalled by the <a href="/wiki/Webster%27s_Third_New_International_Dictionary#Reception_and_criticisms" title="Webster's Third New International Dictionary">perceived permissiveness of <i>Webster's Third</i></a>, published in 1961. (Webster's Third presented all entries without labeling any as nonstandard or informal, or so it was widely claimed. In fact, the dictionary did apply the labels <i>slang</i>, <i>substandard</i> and <i>nonstandard</i>, but in the view of critics, not often enough and with insufficient disapproval.) Parton tried to buy the <a href="/wiki/Merriam-Webster" title="Merriam-Webster">G. and C. Merriam</a> Company so that he could undo the changes. When that failed, he contracted with Houghton to publish a new dictionary. The <i>AHD</i> 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.<sup id="cite_ref-ottenhoff_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ottenhoff-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, Morris made inconsistent use of the panels, often ignoring their advice and inserting his own opinions.<sup id="cite_ref-ottenhoff_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ottenhoff-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Linguistics">Linguistics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Linguistics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <i>AHD</i> broke ground among dictionaries by using <a href="/wiki/Corpus_linguistics" title="Corpus linguistics">corpus linguistics</a> for compiling word frequencies and other information. </p><p>Citations were based on a million-word, three-line <a href="/wiki/Brown_Corpus" title="Brown Corpus">citation database</a> prepared by <a href="/wiki/Brown_University" title="Brown University">Brown University</a> linguist <a href="/wiki/Henry_Ku%C4%8Dera" title="Henry Kučera">Henry Kučera</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Usage_panel">Usage panel</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Usage panel"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>For expert consultation on words or constructions whose usage was controversial or problematic, the American Heritage Dictionary relied on the advice of a usage panel. In its final form, the panel comprised nearly 200 prominent members of professions whose work demanded sensitivity to language. Former members of the usage panel include novelists (<a href="/wiki/Isaac_Asimov" title="Isaac Asimov">Isaac Asimov</a>, <a href="/wiki/Barbara_Kingsolver" title="Barbara Kingsolver">Barbara Kingsolver</a>, <a href="/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace" title="David Foster Wallace">David Foster Wallace</a> and <a href="/wiki/Eudora_Welty" title="Eudora Welty">Eudora Welty</a>), poets (<a href="/wiki/Rita_Dove" title="Rita Dove">Rita Dove</a>, <a href="/wiki/Galway_Kinnell" title="Galway Kinnell">Galway Kinnell</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mary_Oliver" title="Mary Oliver">Mary Oliver</a> and <a href="/wiki/Robert_Pinsky" title="Robert Pinsky">Robert Pinsky</a>), playwrights (<a href="/wiki/Terrence_McNally" title="Terrence McNally">Terrence McNally</a> and <a href="/wiki/Marsha_Norman" title="Marsha Norman">Marsha Norman</a>), journalists (<a href="/wiki/Liane_Hansen" title="Liane Hansen">Liane Hansen</a> and <a href="/wiki/Susan_Stamberg" title="Susan Stamberg">Susan Stamberg</a>), literary critics (<a href="/wiki/Harold_Bloom" title="Harold Bloom">Harold Bloom</a>), columnists and commentators (<a href="/wiki/William_F._Buckley,_Jr." class="mw-redirect" title="William F. Buckley, Jr.">William F. Buckley, Jr.</a> and <a href="/wiki/Robert_J._Samuelson" title="Robert J. Samuelson">Robert J. Samuelson</a>), linguists and cognitive scientists (<a href="/wiki/Anne_Curzan" title="Anne Curzan">Anne Curzan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Steven_Pinker" title="Steven Pinker">Steven Pinker</a> and <a href="/wiki/Calvert_Watkins" title="Calvert Watkins">Calvert Watkins</a>) and humorists (<a href="/wiki/Garrison_Keillor" title="Garrison Keillor">Garrison Keillor</a>, <a href="/wiki/David_Sedaris" title="David Sedaris">David Sedaris</a> and <a href="/wiki/Alison_Bechdel" title="Alison Bechdel">Alison Bechdel</a>). Pinker, author of the <a href="/wiki/Style_guide" title="Style guide">style guide</a> <i><a href="/wiki/The_Sense_of_Style" title="The Sense of Style">The Sense of Style</a></i>, was its final chair.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The members of the panel were sent regular ballots asking about matters of usage; the completed ballots were returned and tabulated, and the results formed the basis for special usage notes appended to the relevant dictionary entries. In many cases, these notes not only reported the percentage of panelists who considered a given usage or construction to be acceptable, but would also report the results from balloting of the same question in past decades, to give a clearer sense of how the language changes over time. </p><p>Houghton Mifflin dissolved the usage panel on February 1, 2018, citing the decline in demand for print dictionaries.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Illustrations">Illustrations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Illustrations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <i>AHD</i> is also somewhat innovative in its liberal use of photographic illustrations, which at the time was highly unusual for general reference dictionaries, many of which went largely or completely unillustrated. It also has an unusually large number of biographical entries for notable persons. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="First_edition">First edition</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: First edition"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The first edition appeared in 1969, highly praised for its <a href="/wiki/Indo-European_languages" title="Indo-European languages">Indo-European</a> <a href="/wiki/Etymology" title="Etymology">etymologies</a>. In addition to the normally expected etymologies, which for instance trace the word <i>ambiguous</i> to a <a href="/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_language" title="Proto-Indo-European language">Proto-Indo-European</a> <a href="/wiki/Root_(linguistics)" title="Root (linguistics)">root</a> <i>ag-</i>, meaning "to drive", the appendices included a seven-page article by Professor <a href="/wiki/Calvert_Watkins" title="Calvert Watkins">Calvert Watkins</a> entitled "Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans" and "Indo-European Roots", 46 pages of entries that are each organized around one of some thousand Proto-Indo-European roots and the English words of the <i>AHD</i> that are understood to have evolved from them. These entries might be called "reverse etymologies": the <i>ag-</i> entry there, for instance, lists 49 terms derived from it, words as diverse as <i>agent</i>, <i>essay</i>, <i>purge</i>, <i>stratagem</i>, <i>ambassador</i>, <i>axiom</i>, and <i>pellagra</i>, along with information about varying routes through intermediate transformations on the way to the contemporary words. </p><p>A compacted <i>American Heritage College Dictionary</i> was first released in 1974. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Later_editions">Later editions</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Later editions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The first edition's concise successor, <i>The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition</i>, was published in 1982 (without a larger-format version). It omitted the <a href="/wiki/Indo-European_languages" title="Indo-European languages">Indo-European</a> 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 third edition included over 350,000 entries and meanings.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The fourth edition (2000, reissued in 2006) added an appendix of <a href="/wiki/Semitic_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Semitic language">Semitic language</a> 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 <i><a href="/wiki/Webster%27s_Third_New_International_Dictionary" title="Webster's Third New International Dictionary">Webster's Third New International Dictionary</a></i> or the unabridged <i><a href="/wiki/Random_House_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language" class="mw-redirect" title="Random House Dictionary of the English Language">Random House Dictionary of the English Language</a></i>. 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). </p><p>The fifth and most recent full edition was published in November 2011, with new printings in 2012 and 2016 and a 50th Anniversary Printing in 2018, which the publisher states is a "comprehensive update" of the 2011 edition, containing "... [t]housands of revisions to definitions and etymologies, 150 new words and senses, and new usage advice ...."<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The various printings of the 5th edition are available in hardcover and, with reduced print size and smaller page count, <a href="/wiki/Paperback#Trade" title="Paperback">trade paperback</a> form. The 5th edition dropped several of the supplementary features of the fourth edition, and is not available with a disc-based electronic version. The university-student version was renamed <i>The American Heritage College Writer's Dictionary</i> in 2013, and stripped of biographical and geographical entries to make room for more vocabulary while simultaneously reducing the number of pages compared to the fourth college edition. </p><p>The <i>AHD</i> inserts minor revisions (such as a biographical entry, with photograph, for each newly elected U.S. president) in successive printings of any given edition. </p><p>Supporting volumes have been issued, including <i>The American Heritage Book of English Usage</i>, <i>The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots</i>, <i>The American Heritage <a href="/wiki/Abbreviation" title="Abbreviation">Abbreviations</a> Dictionary</i>, <i>The American Heritage Dictionary of <a href="/wiki/Idiom" title="Idiom">Idioms</a></i>, <i>The American Heritage <a href="/wiki/Thesaurus" title="Thesaurus">Thesaurus</a></i> in various sizes; <a href="/wiki/Usage_dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="Usage dictionary">usage dictionaries</a> of special vocabulary such as <i>The American Heritage Science Dictionary</i>, <i>The American Heritage Medical Dictionary</i> and <i>The American Heritage Dictionary of Business Terms</i>; plus special dictionary editions for children, high-school students, and English-language learners. The <i>American Heritage</i> brand is also used for a series of American history books. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_dictionaries_by_number_of_words" title="List of dictionaries by number of words">List of dictionaries by number of words</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonetic_notation_of_the_American_Heritage_Dictionary" title="Phonetic notation of the American Heritage Dictionary">Phonetic notation of the American Heritage Dictionary</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-ottenhoff-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-ottenhoff_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-ottenhoff_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFOttenhoff1996" class="citation journal cs1">Ottenhoff, John (Autumn 1996). "The Perils of Prescriptivism: Usage Notes and The American Heritage Dictionary". <i>American Speech</i>. <b>71</b> (3): 272–284. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F455550">10.2307/455550</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/455550">455550</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=American+Speech&rft.atitle=The+Perils+of+Prescriptivism%3A+Usage+Notes+and+The+American+Heritage+Dictionary&rft.ssn=fall&rft.volume=71&rft.issue=3&rft.pages=272-284&rft.date=1996&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F455550&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F455550%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft.aulast=Ottenhoff&rft.aufirst=John&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AThe+American+Heritage+Dictionary+of+the+English+Language" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="//www.ahdictionary.com/word/usagepanel.html">"The Usage Panel"</a>. <i>American Heritage Dictionary</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231127211836/https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/usagepanel.html">Archived</a> from the original on Nov 27, 2023.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=American+Heritage+Dictionary&rft.atitle=The+Usage+Panel&rft_id=%2F%2Fwww.ahdictionary.com%2Fword%2Fusagepanel.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AThe+American+Heritage+Dictionary+of+the+English+Language" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSkinner2018" class="citation news cs1">Skinner, David (December 2, 2018). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190213064134/https://www.weeklystandard.com/david-skinner/the-american-heritage-dictionary-usage-panel-defining-characteristic-the-dictionary-and-us">"The Dictionary and Us"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_Weekly_Standard" title="The Weekly Standard">The Weekly Standard</a></i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.weeklystandard.com/david-skinner/the-american-heritage-dictionary-usage-panel-defining-characteristic-the-dictionary-and-us">the original</a> on February 13, 2019<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">February 12,</span> 2019</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Weekly+Standard&rft.atitle=The+Dictionary+and+Us&rft.date=2018-12-02&rft.aulast=Skinner&rft.aufirst=David&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weeklystandard.com%2Fdavid-skinner%2Fthe-american-heritage-dictionary-usage-panel-defining-characteristic-the-dictionary-and-us&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AThe+American+Heritage+Dictionary+of+the+English+Language" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=WWYNAQAAMAAJ">Google Books</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200529190006/https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/The-American-Heritage-Dictionary-of-the-English-Language-Fifth-Edition/9781328841698">"The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition: Fiftieth Anniversary Printing"</a>. <i>HMH Books</i>. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/The-American-Heritage-Dictionary-of-the-English-Language-Fifth-Edition/9781328841698">the original</a> on May 29, 2020<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">September 19,</span> 2019</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=HMH+Books&rft.atitle=The+American+Heritage+Dictionary+of+the+English+Language%2C+Fifth+Edition%3A+Fiftieth+Anniversary+Printing&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hmhbooks.com%2Fshop%2Fbooks%2FThe-American-Heritage-Dictionary-of-the-English-Language-Fifth-Edition%2F9781328841698&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AThe+American+Heritage+Dictionary+of+the+English+Language" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><span class="official-website"><span class="url"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ahdictionary.com/">Official website</a></span></span> of the <i>American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language</i></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/usagepanel.html">Members of the Usage Panel</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/indoeurop.html">The American Heritage Dictionary Indo-European Roots Appendix</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/epub/ahd4.shtml">The <i>American Heritage Dictionary</i> Software</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120112060859/http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/epub/ahd4.shtml">Archived</a> 2012-01-12 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i290-10/f05/AHDGlobe.html"><i>Boston Globe</i> review of the <i>AHD</i> 3rd edition (1992)</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist 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href="/wiki/Category:English_dictionaries" title="Category:English dictionaries">Dictionaries of English</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old</a> and <a href="/wiki/Middle_English" title="Middle English">Middle English</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/An_Anglo-Saxon_Dictionary" title="An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary">An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Dictionary_of_Old_English" title="Dictionary of Old English">Dictionary of Old English</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Middle_English_Dictionary" title="Middle English Dictionary">Middle English Dictionary</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Historic</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Catholicon_Anglicum" title="Catholicon Anglicum">Catholicon Anglicum</a></i> (1483)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_English_Schoole-Master" title="The English Schoole-Master">The English Schoole-Master</a></i> (1596)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_New_World_of_English_Words" title="The New World of English Words">The New World of English Words</a></i> (1658)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/A_New_English_Dictionary" title="A New English Dictionary">A New English Dictionary</a></i> (1702)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/An_Universal_Etymological_English_Dictionary" title="An Universal Etymological English Dictionary">An Universal Etymological English Dictionary</a></i> (1721)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/A_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language" title="A Dictionary of the English Language">Johnson's <i>A Dictionary of the English Language</i></a> (1755)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Webster%27s_Dictionary" title="Webster's Dictionary">Webster's Dictionary</a></i> (1828)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Joseph_Emerson_Worcester" title="Joseph Emerson Worcester">Worcester's <i>Dictionary</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_Richardson_(lexicographer)" title="Charles Richardson (lexicographer)">Richardson's <i>New Dictionary</i></a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Imperial_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language" title="The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language">Imperial Dictionary</a></i> (1847–1850)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Century_Dictionary" title="Century Dictionary">Century Dictionary</a></i> (1889–1891)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/World_Book_Dictionary" title="World Book Dictionary">World Book Dictionary</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Dictionary_of_American_English" title="Dictionary of American English">Dictionary of American English</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/British_English" title="British English">British English</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Chambers_Dictionary" title="Chambers Dictionary">Chambers</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Collins_English_Dictionary" title="Collins English Dictionary">Collins</a></i></li> <li><i>Oxford</i> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" title="Oxford English Dictionary">OED</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Oxford_Dictionary_of_English" title="Oxford Dictionary of English">ODE</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Compact_Oxford_English_Dictionary_of_Current_English" title="Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English">Compact</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Concise_Oxford_English_Dictionary" title="Concise Oxford English Dictionary">Concise</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Shorter_Oxford_English_Dictionary" title="Shorter Oxford English Dictionary">Shorter</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Penguin_English_Dictionary" title="Penguin English Dictionary">Penguin</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a class="mw-selflink selflink">American Heritage</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Dictionary_of_American_Regional_English" title="Dictionary of American Regional English">American Regional</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Encarta_Webster%27s_Dictionary" title="Encarta Webster's Dictionary">Encarta</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/New_Oxford_American_Dictionary" title="New Oxford American Dictionary">New Oxford American</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Random_House_Webster%27s_Unabridged_Dictionary" title="Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary">Random House Webster's</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Webster%27s_New_World_Dictionary" title="Webster's New World Dictionary">Webster's New World</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Webster%27s_Third_New_International_Dictionary" title="Webster's Third New International Dictionary">Webster's Third New International</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Canadian_English" title="Canadian English">Canadian English</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Canadian_Oxford_Dictionary" title="Canadian Oxford Dictionary">Canadian Oxford</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/A_Dictionary_of_Canadianisms_on_Historical_Principles" title="A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles">Dictionary of Canadianisms</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Dictionary_of_Newfoundland_English" title="Dictionary of Newfoundland English">Dictionary of Newfoundland English</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Gage_Canadian_Dictionary" title="Gage Canadian Dictionary">Gage Canadian</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Australian_English" title="Australian English">Australian English</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Australian_National_Dictionary" title="The Australian National Dictionary">Australian National</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Australian_Oxford_Dictionary" title="Australian Oxford Dictionary">Australian Oxford</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Macquarie_Dictionary" title="Macquarie Dictionary">Macquarie</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_online_dictionaries" title="List of online dictionaries">Online</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Collaborative_International_Dictionary_of_English" title="Collaborative International Dictionary of English">Collaborative International Dictionary of English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Urban_Dictionary" title="Urban Dictionary">Urban Dictionary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wiktionary" title="Wiktionary">Wiktionary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wordnik" title="Wordnik">Wordnik</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Monolingual_learner%27s_dictionary" title="Monolingual learner's dictionary">Learners</a> / <a href="/wiki/English_as_a_second_or_foreign_language" title="English as a second or foreign language">ESL</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Cambridge_Advanced_Learner%27s_Dictionary" title="Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary">Cambridge Advanced Learner's</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Collins_COBUILD_Advanced_Dictionary" title="Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary">Collins COBUILD Advanced</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Longman_Dictionary_of_Contemporary_English" title="Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English">Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Macmillan_English_Dictionary_for_Advanced_Learners" title="Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners">Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Merriam-Webster%27s_Advanced_Learner%27s_English_Dictionary" title="Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's English Dictionary">Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Oxford_Advanced_Learner%27s_Dictionary" title="Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary">Oxford Advanced Learner's</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    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