Language

Encyclopedias may have an important role in the early stages of your research. They provide a general overview of a subject, and aim to present objective data (names, dates, and facts that can be independently verified). They may help you to identify areas of controversy or special interest from which you can pursue further research and interpretive criticism.

Dictionaries are useful for more than just looking up definitions. A historical dictionary like the Oxford English Dictionary includes full etymologies, and dated quotations to show shifting meanings over time.

Specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias provide information on specific dialects, disciplines, or historical periods.

The Oxford English Dictionary
Online
REF PE1625.O87 1989t

The OED, as it is known, is the most comprehensive and authoritative dictionary of the English language. As a citations dictionary, it quotes sentences used by authors to illustrate the history of usage beginning with the earliest known usage of each word.

The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
REF PE1580.05

A scholarly, comprehensive dictionary on the history and origin of English words.

Oxford Reference Online
Online

For dictionaries, thesauruses, quotations, literary terms, and companions to literature. ORO contains the full text of more than 100 dictionary, language and subject reference books. Some of the resources most useful to literary study include The Concise Oxford Dictionary, The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, The Dictionary of Art, The Oxford Companion to British Literature, The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature, The Oxford Companion to American Literature, and companions to numerous other literatures.

Guide to Canadian English Usage
PE3235.F44 1997t

A guide to Canadian vocabulary, expressions, and usage, compiled by Queen's University's Strathey Language Unit.

LEME: Lexicons of Early Modern English

A scholarly resource for original research into the entire lexical content of Early Modern English.

The Middle English Dictionary
Online

A comprehensive guide to the English language from 1100-1500, including exhaustive citations. Available online through the Middle English Compendium.

The Dictionary of the Scots Language
Online

Includes both The Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue and The Scottish National Dictionary (10 volumes shelved in Reference at PE2106.S4)

A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English
REF PE3721.P3 1984t

Standard source for definitions of English slang words and phrases covering both contemporary and historical usage.

The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. 2nd ed.
REF PN44.5 .M86 2003

Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
Online (based on 2004 print edition)
REF PN41.C67 2001

Abrams, M. H. Glossary of Literary Terms
REF PN41.A184 2005

Lanham, Richard. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms
REF PE1445.A2 L3 1991

Cuddon, J.E., & C.E. Preston. Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory
REF PN41.C83 1998

Fowler, Roger. Dictionary of Modern Critical Terms
REF PN41.D4794 1987t

Literature

A selection of specialized dictionaries/encyclopedias is listed below.

To find others, search QCAT using keywords of your topic combined with "encyclopedias" or "dictionaries."

Also see Appendix A to the MLA Handbook, which lists "Selected Reference Works by Field," e.g. Art, Education, History, Language and Literature and Religion.

Oxford Reference Online
Online

For dictionaries, thesauruses, quotations, literary terms, and companions to literature. ORO contains the full text of more than 100 dictionary, language and subject reference books. Some of the resources most useful to literary study include The Concise Oxford Dictionary, The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, The Dictionary of Art, The Oxford Companion to British Literature, The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature, The Oxford Companion to American Literature.

Cambridge Guide to Literature in English
REF PR85.C29 1993

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature
Online (2003, 2nd edition)
REF PR19.D732 1996t

Oxford Companion to English Literature
Online
REF PR19.O94 2000

Handbook to Literature
REF PN41.H355 2006

The Feminist Companion to Literature in English : Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present
REF PN471.F45 1990t

The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism
REF PN81.C656 1995t

Offers a clear and succinct explanation of terms, groups, and schools of thought.

General Encyclopedias

New Encyclopædia Britannica
Online (most recent)
REF AE5.E363 Lederman Law Library (15th ed., 2003)
REF AE5.E363 Stauffer Library (15th ed., 1997)

A general encyclopedia, so don't expect extensive coverage or entries on more obscure authors. However, it does provide good overview information on major authors, and articles may give information on where to find the more influential criticism.

Encyclopædia Britannica
REF AE5.E56

This 11th edition is still useful to humanities students for topics concerning the nineteenth century or in which nineteenth-century scholarship was strong.

The following is a very selective list of examples of the library's numerous resources for specialized literature.

The Alexander Pope Encyclopedia
REF PR3632.R64 2004

A Jane Austen Encyclopedia
REF PR4036.A28 1998

Mary Shelley Encyclopedia
REF PR5398.A2M67

Shakespeare: an Oxford Guide
REF PR2976.S333 2003

Virginia Woolf A to Z
REF PR6045.O72Z729 1995

Other Disciplines

Philosophy

The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
REF B41.C35 1999

The Encyclopedia of Philosophy
REF B41.E5 1972

The Oxford Companion to Philosophy
Online
REF B51.O94 1995

Mythology

The Gods of the Greeks
BL781.K363 1974

Dictionary of Classical Mythology
REF BL715.G713 1987

Mythology & Folklore
Online

Oxford Classical Dictionary
REF DE5.O9 1970

History

The Oxford Companion to British History
Online
REF DA34.O93 2002

Dictionary of Ancient History
REF DE5.D53 1994t

Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century World History
REF D286.D53 1994t

Dictionary of Modern History, 1789-1945
REF D205.P34 1962 (Lederman Law Library)

A Dictionary of British History, 1815-1973
DA529.H83

Penguin Dictionary of Twentieth Century History
D419.P29 1983

Dictionary of Twentieth-Century History, 1914-1990
REF D419.T44 1992

The Timetables of History: a Horizontal Linkage of People and Events
REF D11.G78 1982