WHO COMPILED THE
FIRST DICTIONARY?
G'day folks,
This might interest you writers.
The first single-language English
dictionary was published in 1604 by a man named Robert Cawdrey. Back
then it was known as the “Table Alphabeticall.” Cawdrey was a teacher in
England with a great interest in literature, science, medicine, and the
arts. This was a time when the English language was growing and was
greatly affected by trade, travel, and innovations in the fields of arts
and sciences.
Cawdrey, through 'Table Alphabeticall', attempted to
introduce some hard and complicated words to the general public and
wanted the English language to be better organized.
The book had around 3,000 words but had no words beginning with J, K, U,
W, X, or Y. A copy of this dictionary can still be found at the
Bodleian Library in Oxford.
The foundations for modern dictionaries
were laid by the great 18th-century lexicographer Samuel Johnson. He is
renowned for having published the first genuinely reliable modern
dictionary back in 1755 called ‘A Dictionary of the English Language’.
It was so well-received that it became the standard dictionary for
countless people for more than a century.
The dictionary took over eight years to compile, contained 40,000 words,
and required the assistance of six helpers to complete. Samuel also
used over 114,000 quotations in the dictionary – a method that
considerably impacted the style of future dictionaries.
Clancy's comment: Now, most people ask Mr and Mrs Google for help. Just sayin' ...
I'm ...
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