WHAT IS A DICTIONARY?*

A dictionary is a reference book containing words, usually arranged in alphabetical order, and it gives information about their meaning, pronunciation, etymology(3), and uses. Experts estimate that there are more than a million English words today. The revised Oxford English Dictionary lists about 615,000 words, but only about 200,000 of them are in common use, more than in German (184,000) or French (100,000).(4) To catalogue all those words, takes many large volumes. Any book, or set of books, which is complete as it was written is called unabridged because no part of the original has been left out.

The dictionaries sold in most book stores are shortened versions of a complete dictionary and are called abridged dictionaries because some of the original has been left out.

WHERE DID DICTIONARIES COME FROM?*

The first book that we would recognize as an English dictionary appeared in England in 1721, about 280 years ago. The best known early dictionary, however, was published in 1755 by Samuel Johnson in England. He recorded and defined the words that he read and heard everyday. His dictionary also standardized the spelling of many words(5). Until about 1900, whenever people used the word dictionary, they meant Johnson’s Dictionary. His dictionary is still consulted today to find the meaning of a word as it was used in his time. Today, there are many different dictionaries available. Some are small enough to fit in a pocket or purse; some are so big they require their own stand.

3.the history of a word from its present form to its earliest known form.

4.Byron p.3

5.Before 1755 some words had several spellings. Johnson accepted only one spelling and soon most people spelled words the way he did.