Chambers Compact Dictionary

Dictionaries have come a long way in terms of user-friendly clarity since the dense, esoteric abbreviation-heavy days of some of the older efforts-and the attractively uncluttered Chambers Compact Dictionary is no exception.We use dictionaries for at least three purposes-to find out what a word means, to check its spelling and to ascertain the origin or etymology of the word. Chambers Compact Dictionary sets each of its 170,000 words in a clear emboldened sans-serif font so you can quickly see the word you`re looking for and how to spell it. Then there`s a straightforward definition-an omnivore, for example is `a person or animal that eats any kind of food`-and, pleasingly, the etymology is printed below in blue. So you can see precisely what`s what-at a glance. The emphasis is on contemporary English so, on the whole, archaisms are out.