OED(7) OED(7)
NAME
oed - Oxford English Dictionary
SYNOPSIS
oed [ options ] [ -[iI] index ] word...
oed -baddr [ options... ] [ sections... ]
DESCRIPTION
Given one or more word arguments, oed prints the matching
main entry or entries from the first edition of the OED with
Supplements. Flag options for this case are:
-p Match all entries having word as a prefix.
-Iindex Print sections of the dictionary in which, accord-
ing to the index, the word appears.
-iindex Like -I, but only head words are printed, along
with a command that will print the rest.
Available indexes are:
le Word is a lexical entry (the default).
et Word appears in an etymology article.
se Sense: word is used in a definition.
la Word is used as a label.
qd Word appears in the date of a quoted work.
qa Word is the author of a quoted work.
qw Word is the title of a quoted work.
qt Word appears in the text of a quoted work.
Except in the case of `le', the program prints only the sec-
tions of an entry relevant to the word, e.g., indexing
through `qt' produces the head word, a sense article, and
the quotation.
The second form of `oed' uses file block addressing, primar-
ily for the use of `oed -i...'. Options are:
-a Print starting addresses and tags for each sec-
tion.
-baddr Print the dictionary starting with block addr.
-ba.d Print the dictionary starting with the d'th defi-
nition (counting from zero) in block a. Printing
stops at the end of this definition, or when the
Page 1 Plan 9 (printed 4/25/24)
OED(7) OED(7)
block specified with `-e' is reached.
-eaddr Stop printing when block addr is reached.
Specific sections or parts thereof may be selected within a
definition, as follows:
n Section number n (decimal).
ttt Parts of section n (decimal) having tag ttt
(hex).
ttt.mmm Parts of section n (decimal) having tag ttt
(hex), but only tag bits mmm (hex) are signifi-
cant in the comparison.
Options applicable to both forms are:
-k Print the pronunciation key and exit.
-r Print the raw text from the dictionary, instead of
a more readable form.
EXAMPLES
oed poot
Look up the word `poot'.
oed -i qt poot
Show words used with `poot' in quoted text.
oed -i la spiritualism
Show words cited as terms of art in spiritualism.
FILES
/lib/oed/rcd0 CDROM image.
BUGS
The `qa' and `qw' indexes make heavy use of unpredictable
abbreviations. Entries for dates in the `qd' index include
references that are ante, post, and circa; the program does
not distinguish these.
Tabular and other typographically complicated material is
missing from the database, and flagged by `{...}'.
A cross-reference that is not a main entry may be missing
from the `le' index (e.g., kinesthesia refers to
kinæsthesia, but the definition is found under kinæsthesis).
The `-p' flag with a long prefix of the desired word is
often successful.
Page 2 Plan 9 (printed 4/25/24)