Using the Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is a guide to the meaning, history, and usage of 500,000 words and phrases past and present, from across the English-speaking world.

The OED uses a lot of abbreviations. Here's a guide that explains what they mean: https://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/abbreviations/

A librarian at Texas State University has created an entire Research Guide dedicated to using the OED. It's very helpful--just remember that you'll need to access the OED through the WVU site, so links in the TSU guide may not work: https://guides.library.txstate.edu/c.php?g=184334&p=1219511

More Etymology

Online Etymology Dictionary
"This is a map of the wheel-ruts of modern English. Etymologies are not definitions; they're explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago."