HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH DICTIONARY

 
1773 New Spelling Dictionary

Samuel Johnson once joked in a letter that dictionaries are like watches, the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true. The pugnacious English lexicographer may not be a well-known name, but he casts a long shadow on the current definitions of many words in this article. Hardly Harmless Drudgery: Landmarks in English Lexicography, a fascinating exhibition on view on the first floor of the Grolier Club in Manhattan, presents a detailed 500-year timeline of the dictionary's evolution and its inevitable deconstruction with holdings from several book collectors.

This expansive exhibition of 171 books begins with Renaissance glossaries. These forerunners did not set out to define every known word. Instead, they set a narrower goal of annotating technical terms circulating in particular professions.

The following cases in the exhibition chronicle the slow but steady rise of comprehensive English language dictionaries during the Enlightenment. Rivalries and pedantic snickering often marred these dictionaries, especially in the 19th century. To be fair, these lexicographers were in a double bind, fearing accusations of plagiarism and copyright infringement if entries were too similar, and anticipating vitriol if new definitions went too far and challenged earlier work.

In 1829, for instance, lexicographer Noah Webster flew into a rage, complaining that revisions of his work made him look like someone who had written a first draft of a book with inconsistent and half-baked ideas, requiring experts to come in, clean up the mess, and make it fit for publication. Although the differences were minute, there was market share to defend — as well as pride. As Jack Lynch, professor of English at Rutgers University and co-curator of the exhibition, explained to Hyperallergic, Noah Webster is a fascinating figure: an American patriot who just missed fighting in the Revolution and a brilliant definer — but also a bad-tempered grouch with the worst business instincts in America. Still, he and the Merriams established the most enduring dictionary franchise in history.

 
1914 Century Dictionary

The contemporary influence of even these historical dictionaries is inestimable. In the past five years, according to the exhibition catalog, more than 40% of Supreme Court decisions drew upon definitions from early American dictionaries to elucidate laws.

To read the complete article, see:
Tracing the 500-Year History of the English Dictionary (https://hyperallergic.com/912138/tracing-the-500-year-history-of-the-english-dictionary/)

For more information on the Grolier Club , see:
https://www.grolierclub.org/

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