The Oxford English Dictionary occupies a special place in the history of English, cultural as well as linguistic. This collection sets out to explore the pioneering endeavors in both lexicography and lexicology which led to the making of its first edition. Making use of much unpublished archive material, the essays brings a wide variety of perspectives to bear upon the OED, and the particular problems posed by the attempt to break new ground in its formation. Contents: 1. Pioneers in the Untrodden Forest, Lynda Mugglestone 2. Making the OED, Elizabeth Knowles 3. OED Sources, Charlotte Brewer 4. Murray and his European Counterparts, Noel Osselton 5. Time and Meaning, Penny Silva 6. The Compass of the Vocabulary, Anne Curzan 7. Words and Word-Formation, Dieter Kastovsky 8. OED and the Earlier History of English, Eric Stanley 9. The Vocabulary of Science in the OED, Michael Rand Hoare and Vivian Salmon 10. Pronunciation in the OED, Michael K. C. MacMahon 11. An Historian not a Critic, Lynda Mugglestone 12. This Unique and Peerless Specimen, Richard W. Bailey Appendix 1. OED Sections and Parts, Jenny McMorris Appendix 2. OED Personalia, Peter Gilliver Appendix 3. The OED and the Public, Richard W. Bailey