The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary - 3rd Edition This meant that the 2nd edition once again had too many omissions and there was a new demand for an updated dictionary to be published. As the 1990s became known as the Information Age, new words were being formed and coined for different aspects of the computer world. The 2nd edition covered the years of 1989 through 1991. The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary - 2nd Edition This is why omissions and errors lead to the 2nd edition of the Merriam-Webster Scrabble Dictionary. Unfortunately, Scrabble players and fans seemed to be a bit more skilled at editing the dictionaries than the editors themselves. Any and all words that were in these dictionaries would be considered to be an official word when playing Scrabble. The five sources included the 8th Edition of the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, the 2nd Edition of Webster's New World Dictionary, Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary of the English Language, the Random House College Dictionary and The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. The CEO of the company made a suggestion to combine five different word sources into one single book. However, as the interest in Scrabble grew, there was a need for a true Scrabble dictionary that offered official words.Īt this time, Selchow and Righter had all of the rights to manufacturing in North America. The official dictionary used in North America until 1987 was the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary - First Edition Looking at the history of the OSPD, players can look right into the history of the game itself.
There are also many arguments that pertain whether words are appropriate for being an entry in a Scrabble dictionary. Words are always being added to the English language, making it almost impossible to keep a Scrabble dictionary up to date. This single book quickly became known as the SOWPODS, which is a combination of the OSW and the OSPD.Įven though there are standardised dictionaries, there is still much controversy regarding words lists and usage. In 1994, Australia offered the first true official dictionary for Scrabble in English and the UK followed suit in 2001. In the US and in Canada, players used the OSPD, or the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary. The mentioned Chambers Dictionary soon became known as OSW, meaning Official Scrabble Words. Following that time, the Chambers Dictionary became the book of choice for the British National Scrabble Championship. In England, the Shorter Oxford Dictionary served as the Scrabble dictionary until 1980. However, the official Scrabble dictionary will vary per country, so players will come across different sources. The Scrabble Dictionary is a pretty new invention and up until 1987, players referenced standard dictionaries to look up words for the game. Scrabble Dictionary - The Official Scrabble Players DictionaryĪn in depth article about the four popular editions of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary and a discussion of the phenomenon of the Scrabble dictionary as we know it.