Follow-Up: Now Google Really IS Your Dictionary

There has been a lot of news out Google's headquarters in Mountain View, CA over the last couple weeks. The release of Google Goggles, Real-Time Search, and the rumors of the imminent release of the Google phone, the Nexus One, are just a few. In the face of this flurry of tech activity, the story we're talking about today has gone relatively unnoticed, but to people who write for a living, it's a very important release.

Back in September, I wrote this article about the futility of subscription-based online dictionaries. I'd concluded by mentioning the fact that a simple search for a word does about as good a job providing a definition as any online dictionary does. Now, it seems that the folks at Google have to come to roughly the same conclusion.
In short, the search engine we all know and love has released their very own free online dictionary. Like everything they do, Google has built a highly functional product that integrates well with the rest of their services. Type an odd word into a Google Search, and a Google Dictionary result is returned right at the top. [This worked a little before the dictionary was officially released, but it's much more complete now.] Type a word into Google Dictionary, and you are offered not only their stored definitions, but also results from the web. Not to mention some pretty nifty integration with Google Translate using the language drop-down menu.

Seemingly overnight, Google has managed to build an extraordinarily competitive dictionary that many people will use through Google Search without even realizing. The need to click through to another service is greatly reduced. For a good example of the functionality of the service, check out this definition for the word 'bath'. Google seems to have most of the bases well covered: multiple definitions, pronunciation, spelling, common phrases, example sentences, and web results.

The only area in which they're so far lacking is one in which a subscription service like the OED shines: etymology. Any avid OED fan, me included, will tell you that the startlingly complete etymologies are this dictionaries ace in the hole. For scholarly reference on the history of the words, there's no matching it. If Google is ultimately trying to compete with the very best dictionaries out there, it's going to have to get on the ball with some word origins.

But, since it's Google, I can't imagine this addition is too far off. After all, they've already pretty much nailed the dictionary market as far as everyday use is concerned. I certainly wouldn't want to be Dictionary.com right now.