The
Deutsches Wörterbuch , abbreviated
DWB, is the largest and most comprehensive
dictionary of the
German language in existence. Encompassing modern
High German vocabulary in use since 1450, it also includes
loanwords adopted from other languages into German. Entries cover the
etymology,
meanings,
attested forms,
synonyms, usage peculiarities, and regional differences of words found throughout the
German speaking world. The dictionary's
historical linguistics approach, illuminated by examples from
primary source documents, makes it to German what the
Oxford English Dictionary is to
English. The first completed DWB lists over 330,000
headwords in 67,000 print columns spanning 32 volumes.