All,
Having run my legs off this past weekend in order to gather enough funds to purchase an OLD, I was wondering what your opinion of the dictionary is prior to me making a committment.
Any info would be useful & much appreciated.
Thanks,
dlb
.
It’s a wonderful work of scholarship and an absolute necessity if you are doing any kind of Latin academic work. It’s a bit overkill for the average Latin self-learner, though. It is amazing to read up on a particular word when you have the time, but it’s not too handy as a quick reference for when you are just working your way through a text and need a definition. Depending upon where you are in your studies, you might want to hold out a bit and see if a sale pops up. During Oxford University’s Fall Sale in 2007 the price was $135 (vs. over $300 regular). That’s when I picked it up:
http://discourse.textkit.com/t/some-deals-that-might-be-of-interest/6977/1
Of course you never know if or when a sale like that will come around again. Being a rather new book (at least, on the classical time scale), it is still under copyright and there are no digital versions (unlike some of the other great works: Lewis & Short; LSJ) so if you want it, you’ve got to get the real thing (though there is a digital version in the works: http://www.logos.com/OLD we heard about it awhile ago, but nothing lately, so no idea where it stands).
I have A Latin Dictionary, Founded on Andrew’s Edition of Freund’s Latin Dictionary. It is cheaper than Oxford’s Latin Dictionary but it has more to it, including Latin beyond just the “Classical” period.
Found this on a message board:
Even then, unless you are fairly advanced in your Latin, you would find
it a major minus that the dictionary uses systematically, through and
through, and heedless of standard non-Oxford usage, the Oxford orthography
that does not recognize lowercase “v”. So “via” is “uuia”, wine is
“uinum,” the bladder, “uesica,” etc. You may get used to it if you’re a
Latin scholar but it will not help you to understand medical printed
books of late Middle Ages or modern times.
Is this a major concern for those of you who have the dictionary?
dlb
.
I probably count as “advanced in Latin” by now, but I don’t remember the Oxford orthography (u for v) being confusing when I was a beginner. A lot of texts are printed that way, and it’s easy to get used to once you read a few sentences. (By the way, it’s probably a typo in the post you quoted, but “via” would be “uia,” not “uuia.”)
But as others on this thread have pointed out, buying an OLD might be overkill for most purposes. It’s great to have access to it now and then; there’s one at my university library, but I very seldom need to refer to it… For most of my everyday Latin reading, I use the New College pocket-sized dictionary (http://www.amazon.com/Bantam-College-English-Dictionary-Revised/dp/055359012X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245024886&sr=8-1), and pull up Lewis & Short online for more advanced things (http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/PERSEUS/Reference/lewisandshort.html).
Buy it. Buy it. Assuming you are not loaded (you had to run your legs off right?), this might be the one time you have the funds to make a purchase like this. I have kids and a mortgage. A 300 dollar Latin dictionary sounds like grounds for divorce. Besides, if you do not like it, I promise to buy it from you for 125 $. 
Well, now for an update.
Having spent some time hunting around for Latin dictionaries I have found there to be quite a few which has only led to FUD (Fear, Uncertainity and Doubt). I can’t determine if I want the most expansive dictionary or a more classical one.
On a more theoritical note: It seems as if those who wrote dictionaries had to survey writtings, as well as build upon previously published works, in a particular language in order to derive the many meanings of a word from which they would begin to build their own brand of dictionary. I am sure that the inclusion/exclusion of certain words was predicated upon several space/time constraints as well as personal preferences.
Oh well, you are correct that I am not loaded, & I have no fear of divorce as I have been married for over 30 years and the last of my once full quiver are now in college, so a couple of more games and I may be able to purchase 2 OLD’s and give one to you for free 
Thanks for the reply,
dlb
.