浅谈COD的变化——从家喻户晓的辞书到大型单词书

词典及语言学习交流
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之所以写这个话题，是因为看到有学习者因为葛传槼、林语堂等语言大家的推荐，选择了COD、POD等辞书学习。但购买最新版的COD、POD后发现释义简单、内容过于简单，并不能满足学习需要。因此就怀着好奇心探求一下从前的COD到底是什么样的，翻找了之前的一些资料，简单写了一段。不足之处请大家批评指正。

自Fowler 兄弟自1911年出版 “Concise Oxford Dictionary” 后，这本辞书很长时间都是家喻户晓的公认权威之作，并简称为COD。但自从书名改为Concise Oxford English Dictionary后，这本知名词典已经沦为“一本巨大的单词书”，“失去助力语言学习的效果”。下面用一个常见的单词climb，给大家一个直观感受。每个版本的差异用黑体表示。

COD1

climb (-īm) v.t. & i. (past climbed & archaic clomb pr. -ōm), & n. Ascend, mount, go up, (t. & i.) esp. with help of hands; c. down (t. & i.), descend (cliff &c., or abs.) similarly, (intr.) retreat from position taken up, give in; (of sun &c.) go slowly up; (of plants) get support by tendrils or twining from tree, trellis, &c.; slope upwards; rise by effort in social rank, intellectual or moral strength, &c.; climbing-iron, spikes attachable to boot for climbing trees or ice slopes; hence climbABLE (-ma-) a. (N.) piece of climbing (c. down, abandonment of declared intention), place (to be) climbed. [cf. G klimmen; prob. cogn. W. CLEAVE2].

作为1911年的第一版，释义为完整一段，没有任何划分。使用了 &c 的缩写。该符号有时表示当前entry词（climb）的重复，有时表示etc.的含义。

COD3

climb (-īm) v.t. & i. (past climbed & archaic clomb pr. -ōm), & n. Ascend, mount, go up, (t. & i.) esp. with help of hands; c. down (t. & i.), descend (cliff &c., or abs.) similarly, (intr.) retreat from position taken up, give in; (of sun, aeroplane, &c.) go slowly up; (of plants) get support by tendrils or twining from tree, trellis, &c.; slope upwards; rise by effort in social rank, intellectual or moral strength, &c.; climbing-iron, spikes attachable to boot for climbing trees or ice slopes; hence climbABLE (-ma-) a. (N.) piece of climbing (c. down, abandonment of declared intention), place (to be) climbed. [cf. G klimmen; prob. cogn. W. CLEAVE2].

COD3相较于第一版只做了一处修改：climb也可以表示aeroplane的爬升。这里反映了时代的变化。

COD4

climb (-īm) v.t. & i. (past ~ed & arch. clomb pr. -ōm), & n. 1. Ascend, mount, go up, (t. & i.) esp. with help of hands; ~ down (t. & i.), descend (cliff etc., or abs.) similarly, (intr.) retreat from position taken up, give in; (of sun, aeroplane, etc.) go slowly up; (of plants) get support by tendrils or twining from tree, trellis, etc.*; slope upwards; rise by effort in social rank, intellectual or moral strength, etc.; ~ing-iron, spikes attachable to boot for ~ing trees or ice slopes; hence clī’mbABLE (-ma-) a. 2. n. Piece of ~ing (~-down, abandonment of declared intention), place (to be) ~ed. [cf. G klimmen; prob. cogn. W. CLEAVE2].

在第COD4中，最大的改变是 1. 采用了标号，但是这里的标号是以词性为标准；2. 实用~ 和etc. 符号代替难懂的 &c. 。

COD5

climb (-īm) v.t. & i. (past ~ ed & arch. clomb pr. -ōm), & n. 1. Ascend, mount, go up, (t. & i.) esp. with help of hands; ~ down (t. & i.), descend (cliff etc., or abs.) similarly, (intr.) retreat from position taken up, give in; (of sun, aeroplane, etc.) go slowly up; (of plants) get support by tendrils or twining from tree, trellis, etc.; slope upwards; rise by effort in social rank, intellectual or moral strength, etc.; ~ing-iron, spikes attachable to boot for ~ing trees or ice slopes; hence clī’mbABLE (-ma-) a. 2. n. piece of ~ing (~-down, abandonment of declared intention), place (to be) ~ed. [OE climban , (M)Du., (M)LG klimmen , OHG klimban (G klimmen ), f. WG klimban f. nasalized var. of klibh- CLEAVE2]

在COD5中，词源信息被纠正。

COD6~COD7

clīmb (-īm) v. (arch. past clomb pr. -ōm), & n. 1. v.t. & i. Ascend, mount, go up, (often with help of hands); ~ down, descend (cliff etc., or abs.) similarly, retreat from position taken up, give in (so ~-down n.); 2. v.i. (Of sun, aeroplane, etc.) go upwards; (of plant) grow upwards with support by tendrils or twining from tree, trellis, etc.; slope upwards; rise by effort in social rank, intellectual or moral strength, etc. 3. ~’ing-frame, structure of joined pipes etc. for children to climb on; ~’ ing-iron, spikes attachable to boot for climbing trees or ice slopes. 4. Hence ~’ ABLE (-ma-) a. 5. n. Ascent by climbing; place (to be) ~ed. [OE climban, = M Du., MLG klimmen, OHG klimban f. WG klimban f. nasalized var. of klibhan CLEAVE2]

COD6~7堪称是“电报体”的巅峰，把及物/不及物动词进行了划分，补充了climbing-frame的含义。词义被划分的更细，能在很短的篇幅中找到信息。

COD8

climb /klaɪm/ v. & n. - v. 1 tr. & intr. (often foll. by up) ascend, mount, go or come up. esp. by using one’s hands. 2 intr. (of a plant) grow up a wall, tree, trellis, etc. by clinging with tendrils or by twining. 3 intr. make progress from one’s own efforts, esp. in social rank, intellectual or moral strength, etc. 4 intr. (of an aircraft, the sun, etc.) go upwards. 5 intr. slope upwards. - n. 1 an ascent by climbing. 2 a place, esp. a hill, climbed or to be climbed. b a recognized route up a mountain etc. □ climb down 1 descend with the help of one’s hands. 2 withdraw from a stance taken up in argument, negotiation, etc. climb-down n. such a withdrawal. climbing-frame a structure of joined bars etc. for children to climb on. climbing-iron a set of spikes attachable to a boot for climbing trees or ice slopes. □ □ climbable adj. [OE climban f. WG. Rel. to CLEAVE2]

从COD8开始，COD使用计算机进行辅助编纂，因此从这个版本开始，可以发现与前面各版本存在较大差异：

  1. 不再使用~的省略符号，所有的单词都完整表示。
  2. 使用国际音标。
  3. 对于词性和含义进行整理，全部重新编号。
  4. 调整了部分含义的顺序。
  5. 缩减了词源信息。
  6. 合成词不再出现在义项中，而是单独出现在词条最后。
  7. 原来隐藏在解释中的用法被正式提出（如第一个义项中，在COD早期版本，go up 的斜体表示可以搭配，即 climb up = go up。而在该版本中正式正式说明为 often foll. by up）

COD9

climb /klaɪm/ v. & n. ● v. 1 tr. & intr. (often foll. by up) ascend, mount, go or come up. Esp. by using one’s hands. 2 intr. (of a plant) grow up a wall, tree, trellis, etc. by clinging with tendrils or by twining. 3 intr. Move along by grasping or clinging; go with effort; clamber (climbed across the ditch; climbed into bed). 4 intr. make progress in social rank, intellectual or moral strength, etc. 5 intr. (of an aircraft, the sun, etc.) go upwards. 6 intr. slope upwards. ● n. 1 an ascent by climbing. 2 a place, esp. a hill, climbed or to be climbed. b a recognized route up a mountain etc. □ climb down 1 descend with the help of one’s hands. 2 withdraw from a stance taken up in argument, negotiation, etc. climb into put on (clothes). □ climbable adj. [Old English climban from West Germanic, related to CLEAVE2]

COD9是“基于OED的COD系列的完结之作”，这个版本把两个合成词（climb frame和climb iron）从主词条中移除，并作为单独的词条。此外词源中的缩写说明也换成了完整单词。

可以看到从COD1~COD9以来，虽然词条含义进行了修订，但是整体差异不大。但是从COD10开始，不再使用OED为底本，而是使用计算机对词频进行研究而产生的New Oxford Dictionary of English (后续版本称为 Oxford Dictionary of English，ODE）作为底本。以下是COD12（目前最新版）中的解释。

COD 12

climb ■ v. 1 go or come up (a slope, stairs, etc.) ►rise or slope upwards ►(of a plant) grow up (a structure) 2 move with effort into or out of somewhere 3 increase or rise in scale, value, or status 4 (climb down) Brit. Withdraw from a position taken up in argument or negotiation ■ n. 1 an instance of climbing; an ascent ►a recognized route up a mountain or cliff 2 a rise in status or increase in value

—— PHPASES be climbing the walls informal feel frustrated and trapped

——DERIVATIVES climbable adj. climber n. climbing n.

——ORIGIN OE climban, of W. Gmc origin; rel. to CLAY and CLEAVE2

可以发现该版本的几个特点：

  1. 使用主含义 + 子含义的说明形式，义项大幅减少且简化（如表示太阳、飞机的“爬升”，表示在社会“往上爬”的含义，都被隐含在里面）
  2. 用词简单，更加接近学习型词典的难度（在之前的版本中有trellis、 tendrils、twining、clamber、ditch等相对难一些的词汇）
  3. 只有Verb / Noun的划分，不再有及物、不及物，此外 climb 后面可接up的说明也去除了。但是一个短语作为单独的部分放在释义后面。
  4. climb组成的动词短语和合成词都作为单独词条了。
  5. 词源中再次回归了缩写形式。
  6. 对于简单词汇，不再标注音标。

总体来说，从COD9之后，单词除释义外的信息减少了，更适合在阅读中翻找一个词的释义，而缺乏逐字阅读并研习的效果了。

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