Whois & Analysis for oed.com

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a descriptive dictionary of the English language, published by the Oxford University Press.

It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a comprehensive resource to scholars and academic researchers, as well as describing usage in its many variations throughout the world.

The second edition came to 21,728 pages in 20 volumes, published in 1989.

English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now the global lingua franca.

Named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to England, it ultimately derives its name from the Anglia (Angeln) peninsula in the Baltic Sea.

It is most closely related to the Frisian languages, although its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages in the early medieval period, and later by Romance languages, particularly French.

English is either the official language or one of the official languages in almost 60 sovereign states.

It is the most commonly spoken language in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, and is widely spoken in some areas of the Caribbean, Africa, and South Asia.

It is the third most common native language in the world, after Mandarin and Spanish.

It is the most widely learned second language and an official language of the United Nations, of the European Union, and of many other world and regional international organisations.

It is the most widely spoken Germanic language, accounting for at least 70% of speakers of this Indo-European branch.