Books › A dictionary of the English language
A dictionary of the English language
First published 1819 · 2500 pages
An opinionated, deeply literary stroll through the eccentricities of the English language, guided by a brilliantly curmudgeonly scholar.
What it feels like
To read this monumental work is not to study a dry reference text, but to engage in a one-sided conversation with a brilliant, fiercely opinionated intellect. The experience is inherently meandering; you arrive seeking the definition of a single word and find yourself lost an hour later in a labyrinth of etymology and magnificent literary quotations from Shakespeare, Milton, and Dryden. The atmosphere is distinctly antiquarian and cozy, smelling faintly of old paper and leather bindings. It feels less like a sterile catalog of vocabulary and more like a curated museum of the English language, complete with the curator's wry, sometimes curmudgeonly commentary. It is a pure delight for logophiles who want to feel the historical weight and playful elasticity of words.
- Mood
- scholarly
- antiquarian
- intellectually playful
- Tone
- authoritative
- witty
- opinionated
- erudite
- curmudgeonly
- Pace
- meandering
- Themes
- the evolution of language · literary heritage · order out of chaos · the eccentricities of English
- The writing
- Definitions are sharp, aphoristic, and unapologetically biased, elevated by a magnificent curation of classical literary quotations.
- The arc
- The reader wanders through a labyrinth of vocabulary, shifting from mere curiosity to a profound, amused reverence for the quirks of language and the mind of its compiler.
- Who it's for
- Logophiles, history enthusiasts, and literary wanderers who delight in the origins of words and the personality behind the page.
Content notes
- outdated cultural attitudes
- historical prejudices
About the book
A dictionary with more than 40,000 entries which was a primary reference source for scholars and writers of the 18th and 19th century.
Description from Open Library.
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