Don Knuth prefers the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
At first, I was a Webster fan. (Webster's Dictionary) As an American, how can we pick any other? Though, their are several dictionaries and other kinds of Word References.
Until, looking at Wikipedia on placeholders and it's link to AHD. I was not aware of the contraversy between them.
The AHD appeared as a reaction to the publication of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary in 1961, which created a controversy in academic circles because of its novel approach to compiling content. Webster’s Third included thousands of new terms that were in use in spoken English at the time while leaving out most proper nouns and obsolete words. Most scandalous, and completely out of character with Webster’s Second, was Webster’s Third’s lack of authority regarding word usage, for all labels about accepted uses for specific words were removed.
Quote: allaboutdictionaries.com
The full story of American Dictionaries
Glen
