Who, after Shakespeare, is the most quoted author in the full, many-volumed Oxford English Dictionary?

mibmob

Samuel Johnson I expect Nov 30 03, 10:51 AM

gmackematix

I'm sure I've read somewhere it was the great Scott. Sir Walter did write quite a number of respected novels and poems. He invented a few terms such as to be "caught red-handed" and is one of the few sources for the famous OED long word "floccinaucinihilipilification". I am finding it hard to obtain a list of most quoted authors to confirm or deny this though. Nov 30 03, 10:00 PM

lothruin

I assume you're talking about the newest edition? I couldn't find any specific reference for the second most quoted in the OED, but according to several references, Lewis Carroll is the second most quoted man in English after Shakespeare. I don't know exactly what that means and assume that the several sources who list this statistic got their information from the same original source. I didn't find it too hard to believe, though, considering how many words were coined by Carroll. I'd also believe he's the most quoted man in mid-century rock and roll... Nov 30 03, 10:16 PM

SimpleAnecdote

All the following figures are approximates. Shakespeare leads with a staggering 33,000 quotes. The Bible is quoted 25,000 times but is not an author. Sir Walter Scott is next with 15,000+ quotes. Milton comes in with about 12,000+ quotes. Then come Cursor Mundi and Chaucer with 11,000. Dryden 9,000. Dickens 8,000. Tennyson 7,000. The single most quoted work in the OED after the bible is Hamlet, by Shakespeare with 1,600. Sources: 1. Examining the OED - http://oed.hertford.ox.ac.uk/main/content/view/48/124/ 2. OED facts - http://www.oed.com/about/facts.html May 13 09, 4:30 PM