/AP-Yonhap

The Oxford English Dictionary may disappear in paper form and go online, Oxford University Press said in a press release Sunday. It said while demand for the online dictionary is increasing, that for the paper version has been decreasing by about 10 percent a year.

Since the first edition in 1928, the OED has been a world's leading English dictionary. The second edition was published in 1989 and the third edition is currently underway.

Simon Winchester, author of "The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary," told UPI, "Until six months ago I was clinging to the idea that printed books would likely last forever. Since the arrival of the iPad I am now wholly convinced otherwise. The printed book is about to vanish at extraordinary speed."