Variant spellings

Many words are recorded in a number of different spellings in the documentary evidence available to the editors. As comprehensive a list as it has been practical to compile is included in entries which demonstrate such variation. Individual forms are preceded by a note of the century or centuries in which they are recorded, and when necessary by a label indicating the variety of English to which they are restricted. Centuries of use are presented according to the first two digits of the century in question (e.g. ‘17’ for the eighteenth century, as opposed to ‘8’ in the First Edition of the Dictionary). Old and Middle English forms are listed as ‘OE’ or ‘ME’, preceded by ‘e’ or ‘l’ for ‘early’ or ‘late’ when appropriate. In the First Edition a number of truncated forms are given; these have been expanded to the full form wherever possible in the revised material. The typical expansion of this aspect of the revised entries may be seen by comparison with the data provided in the First Edition: