An edition of A dictionary of the English language (1747)

A dictionary of the English language

in which the words are deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their different significations by examples from the best writers : to which are prefixed, a history of the language, and an English grammar, Volume I

6th ed.

by Samuel Johnson

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An edition of A dictionary of the English language (1747)

A dictionary of the English language

in which the words are deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their different significations by examples from the best writers : to which are prefixed, a history of the language, and an English grammar, Volume I

6th ed.

by Samuel Johnson

★★★★ 4.00 ·
1 Rating
82 Want to read
6 Currently reading
1 Have read

From the Preface...

Those who have been persuaded to think well of my design, will require that it should fix our language, and put a stop to those alterations which time and chance have hitherto been suffered to make in it without opposition. With this consequence I will confess that I flattered myself for a while; but now begin to fear that I have indulged expectation which neither reason nor experience can justify. When we see men grow old and die at a certain time one after another, from century to century, we laugh at the elixir that promises to prolong life to a thousand years ; and with equal justice may the lexicographer be derided, who being able to produce no example of a nation that has preserved their words and phrases from mutability, shall imagine that his dictionary can embalm his language, and secure it from corruption and decay, that it is in his power to change sublunary nature, and clear the world at once from folly, vanity, and affectation.

With this hope, however, academies have been instituted, to guard the avenues of their languages, to retain fugitives, and to repulse intruders; but their vigilance and activity have hitherto been vain; sounds are too volatile and subtle for legal restraints; to enchain syllables, and to lash the wind, are equally the undertakings of pride, unwilling to measure its desires by its strength.

Publish Date

1785

Publisher

J. F. And C. Rivington [etc.]

Language

English

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Previews available in: English

Showing 11 featured editions. View all 104 editions?

Edition	Availability
01 Johnson's dictionary: a modern selection 2005, Dover Publications in English 0486440893 9780486440897	cccc Borrow Listen Libraries near you: WorldCat
02 Samuel Johnson's dictionary: selections from the 1755 work that defined the English language 2002, Levenger Press in English 1929154100 9781929154104	cccc Borrow Listen Libraries near you: WorldCat
03 Johnson's dictionary: modern selection 1995, Cassell, Orion Publishing Group, Limited in English - Abridged ed. 0304347051 9780304347056	cccc Borrow Listen Libraries near you: WorldCat
04 Samuel Johnson's dictionary: a modern selection 1981, Pantheon Books in English 0394749057 9780394749051	cccc Borrow Listen Libraries near you: WorldCat
05 Johnson's Dictionary: a Modern Selection by E. L. McAdam and George Milne April 1974, HarperCollins (paper) Paperback in English 0060903090 9780060903091	cccc Borrow Listen Libraries near you: WorldCat
06 A dictionary of the English language: in which the words are deduced from their origin and illustrated in their different significations by examples from the best writers, to which are prefixed a history of the language, and an English grammar 1822, Printed for G. and J. Offor in English	bbbb Read Listen
07 A dictionary of the English language: in which the words are deduced from their originals, explained in their different meanings, and authorized by the names of the writers in whose works they are found 1813, Johnson & Warner in English	bbbb Read Listen Libraries near you: WorldCat
08 A dictionary of the English language: in which the words are deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their different significations by examples from the best writers : to which are prefixed a history of the language, and an English grammar 1799, Printed for J. Johnson [and 27 others] in English - The eighth edition, corrected and revised.	bbbb Read Listen Libraries near you: WorldCat
09 A dictionary of the English language: in which the words are deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their different significations by examples from the best writers : to which are prefixed, a history of the language, and an English grammar, Volume I 1785, J. F. And C. Rivington [etc.] in English - 6th ed.	aaaa Read Listen
10 A dictionary of the English language: in which the words are deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their different significations by examples from the best writers : to which are prefixed, a history of the language, and an English grammar 1785, J. F. And C. Rivington [etc.] - 6th ed.	bbbb Read Listen
11 A dictionary of the English language: in which the words are deduced from their originals, explained in their different meanings and authorized by the names of the writers in whose works they are found 1766, Printed for A. Millar - 3rd ed., corr.	bbbb Read Listen

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Book Details

Published in

London

Edition Notes

Genre: Dictionaries.

Classifications

Library of Congress: PE1620 .J6 1785 (Office)

The Physical Object

Pagination: 2 v. :

ID Numbers

Open Library: OL7029571M
Internet Archive: dictionaryofengl01johnuoft
LCCN: 33000564

Work Description

A dictionary with more than 40,000 entries which was a primary reference source for scholars and writers of the 18th and 19th century.

Excerpts

P R E F A C E.
It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by the fear of' evil, than attracted by the prospect of good, to be exposed to censure, without hope of praise ; to be disgraced by miscarriage, or punished for neglect, where success would have been without applause, and diligence without reward.

Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dictionaries, whom mankind have confidered, not as the pupil, but the slave of science, the pioneer of literature, doomed only to remove rubbish and clear obstructions from the paths through which Learning and Genius press forward to conquest and glory, without bestowing a smile on the humble drudge that facilitates their progress. Every other author may aspire to praise; the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach, and even this negative recompense has been yet granted to very few.

I have, notwithstanding this discouragement, attempted a Dictionary of the English language, which, while it was employed in the cultivation of every species of literature, has itself been hitherto neglected, suffered to spread, under the direction of chance, into wild exuberance ; resigned to the tyranny of time and fashion; and exposed to the corruptions of ignorance, and caprices of innovation.

added by LeadSongDog.

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A dictionary of the English language

in which the words are deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their different significations by examples from the best writers : to which are prefixed, a history of the language, and an English grammar, Volume I

by Samuel Johnson