Oxford English Dictionary (OED). 2nd ed. 20 vols. New York and Oxford: Oxford UP, 1989
Ref PE 1625 .O87 1989 and online

Middle English Dictionary. 13 vols. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1956.
Ref PE 679 .M54

Samuel Johnson. A dictionary of the English language: in which the words are deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their different significations by examples  from the best writers. To which are prefixed, a history of the language, and an English grammar. London, Printed by W. Strahan, 1755. 2 vols. Reprinted New York: AMS, 1967.
Ref PE 1620 .J6 1967

linguistics, regionalisms, and slang

Dictionary of American Regional English. 3 vols. (up to the letter O) Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1985-
Ref PE 2843 .D52 1985

International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. 4 vols. New York: Oxford UP, 1991.
Ref P 29 .I58

Oxford Dictionary of New Words: The Intriguing Stories Behind 2,000 New Words in the News. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998.
Ref PE 1630 .O94 1998

Partridge, Eric. Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. 8th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1984.
Ref PE 3721 .P322 1984

Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang. 2 vols. (up tot he letter O) New York: Random House, 1994-
Ref PE 2846 .H57 1994

Webster's Word Histories. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1989.
Ref PE 1580 .W35 1989

history

Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. 4 vols. New York: Scribners, 1995.
Ref DS 507 .C55 1995

Dictionary of the Middle Ages. 13 vols. New York: Scribners, 1982.
Ref D 114 .D5 1982

Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. 6 vols. New York: Scribners, 1999.
Ref CB361 .E52 1999

Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century.  3 vols. New York: Scribners, 2001.
Ref E 169.1 .E626 2001

For more suggestions, swing by the reference desk.

WebPals
Our library catalog; also searches other libraries, including the Minnesota State University system.

MnLink
A state-wide catalog; includes the University of Minnesota, the largest research collection in the state. Click on search, then choose "colleges and universities" under the state map. Use "request" button to order books through interlibrary loan. Your ID barcode number and last name are your username and password.

Reprint series
We have a number of series of books that are interesting for showing language in use. Among them are:

· The Early English Text Society Series
· The Early Modern Englishwoman-a Facsimile Library of Essential Works
· The English Experience, Its Record in Early Printed Books Published in Facsimile
· The March of America Facsimile Series (early travel narratives to the New World)

To locate these, search WebPals using the series as a title.

MLA International Bibliography
The most complete database of articles, books and other materials on literature and linguistics. Most of the materials listed here must be obtained through interlibrary loan. Another database available from this page that may be of interest if your topic relatesto language teaching or language issues in schools is ERIC.

We have several databases of articles that can be searched in full text. One that linguists have used to trace the use of words in scholarly journals is JSTOR, which has back runs of journals, some of them running back into the 19th century. For current word useage try Lexis/Nexis (use the Guided News Search for best results) Expanded Academic ASAP (choose keyword search, limit to full text, and search entire article content of magazines and journals) or Ethnic NewsWatch for current usage in North American ethnic publications.

History of the English Language (University of Vermont)

HELL: History of the English Language (Unversity of Toronto)