Premium VS Lexico (Countdown’s dictionaries)
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2021 3:09 pm
Oxford Dictionaries Premium and Lexico are the two versions of Oxford Dictionaries Online (ODO). Both versions are used in the letters games on Countdown (oed.com, the Oxford English Dictionary, is not used). The contestant’s word is searched under the British English Premium first; if it does not come up as valid, it is then searched under the UK Dictionary section in Lexico. If it is valid in Lexico, then it is accepted.
This means if a word that is valid on Apterous/Countdown (or is mentioned on the show) appears to be invalid in Lexico, then it’s likely to be valid in Premium.
What are the differences between the two versions?
The main differences include the fact that Premium requires an annual paid subscription to access, whereas Lexico is free.
Premium is more accurate, reliable and voluminous than Lexico, for a number of reasons;
1) [COUNT NOUN]
Premium lists [COUNT NOUN] senses for nouns labelled [MASS NOUN], whereas Lexico tends not to give countable noun senses. This means the plural will be allowed on Countdown.
e.g. EXERTIONS
Premium:
exertion
Pronunciation: /ɪɡˈzəːʃn/
NOUN
[MASS NOUN]
1
Physical or mental effort:
she was panting with the exertion
[COUNT NOUN] : a well-earned rest after their exertions
2
The application of a force, influence, or quality:
the exertion of authority
Lexico:
exertion
Pronunciation /ɪɡˈzəːʃn/
Translate exertion into Spanish
NOUN
mass noun
1
Physical or mental effort.
‘she was panting with the exertion’
2The application of a force, influence, or quality.
‘the exertion of authority’
2) Entries from US English Dictionary under British English in Premium
The British English section in Premium contains some, but not all, words from the US English section under the British English section; these cannot be found in Lexico but will be allowed on Countdown.
e.g COQUI
Premium:
coqui
Pronunciation: /ˈkōkē/ Pronunciation: /ˈkoʊki/
Entry from US English dictionary
NOUN
A singing tree frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui), native to Puerto Rico, that has become an invasive pest in Hawaii.
Lexico:
Cannot be found https://www.lexico.com/search?utf8=%E2% ... uery=coqui
Other differences;
* Their search algorithms are slightly different; searching for a word may direct to an entry more accurately in one version than the others. (e.g. typing ‘algebras’ directs to definition 1.1 in Premium);
* Lexico previously had a few entries erroneously uncapitalised; these have since been capitalised as per Premium (e.g. Mohawk);
* ODO is regularly updated a few times per year, adding thousands of new words, but this is not always done to both versions simultaneously. The most recent update at the time of this post took action on July 2021 in Lexico only, and not in Premium. These words will be allowed on Countdown. https://www.apterous.org/ticket_view.ph ... 198#p80176
This means if a word that is valid on Apterous/Countdown (or is mentioned on the show) appears to be invalid in Lexico, then it’s likely to be valid in Premium.
What are the differences between the two versions?
The main differences include the fact that Premium requires an annual paid subscription to access, whereas Lexico is free.
Premium is more accurate, reliable and voluminous than Lexico, for a number of reasons;
1) [COUNT NOUN]
Premium lists [COUNT NOUN] senses for nouns labelled [MASS NOUN], whereas Lexico tends not to give countable noun senses. This means the plural will be allowed on Countdown.
e.g. EXERTIONS
Premium:
exertion
Pronunciation: /ɪɡˈzəːʃn/
NOUN
[MASS NOUN]
1
Physical or mental effort:
she was panting with the exertion
[COUNT NOUN] : a well-earned rest after their exertions
2
The application of a force, influence, or quality:
the exertion of authority
Lexico:
exertion
Pronunciation /ɪɡˈzəːʃn/
Translate exertion into Spanish
NOUN
mass noun
1
Physical or mental effort.
‘she was panting with the exertion’
2The application of a force, influence, or quality.
‘the exertion of authority’
2) Entries from US English Dictionary under British English in Premium
The British English section in Premium contains some, but not all, words from the US English section under the British English section; these cannot be found in Lexico but will be allowed on Countdown.
e.g COQUI
Premium:
coqui
Pronunciation: /ˈkōkē/ Pronunciation: /ˈkoʊki/
Entry from US English dictionary
NOUN
A singing tree frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui), native to Puerto Rico, that has become an invasive pest in Hawaii.
Lexico:
Cannot be found https://www.lexico.com/search?utf8=%E2% ... uery=coqui
Other differences;
* Their search algorithms are slightly different; searching for a word may direct to an entry more accurately in one version than the others. (e.g. typing ‘algebras’ directs to definition 1.1 in Premium);
* Lexico previously had a few entries erroneously uncapitalised; these have since been capitalised as per Premium (e.g. Mohawk);
* ODO is regularly updated a few times per year, adding thousands of new words, but this is not always done to both versions simultaneously. The most recent update at the time of this post took action on July 2021 in Lexico only, and not in Premium. These words will be allowed on Countdown. https://www.apterous.org/ticket_view.ph ... 198#p80176