ENCYCLOPÆDIA FORTUITA

New Things!

  • Check out The Echololiac, a text-to-speech generator that intersplices one- and two-word sound clips from movies and TV shows. It also has a random sentence generator in case, like me, your mind blanks when presented with open possibility.
  • After decades of failed attempts, I finally managed to visit Japan in October 2023! I blogged every day of my trip there, so you can read about my adventures and view my photos at the Japan Trip 2023 page.
  • I am attempting to write a haiku-ish sort of poem every day this year.

Latest Post

The Chambers Dictionary, Revised 13th Edition

General Details

Title: The Centruy Dictionary, Revised 13th Edition
Volumes: 1
Language: English
Publisher: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd
Year: 2016
Pages: 1860 + 32


The Chambers Dictionary features a quote on the front of its dust jacket wherein Melvyn Bragg brags that "Chambers stands out like a baroque mansion in a city of faceless concrete." It's a weighty hardcover, with a shiny red ribbon bookmark that matches its shiny jacket. The paper is thin, to the point where there is some ghosting of the pages underneath (Western dictionary companies would do well to pay attention to their Japanese counterparts in terms of paper), but bright and readable, with the text printed in double columns in an easy-on-the-eyes typeface. The dictionary traces its roots back to 1872, and this current edition contains "over 620,000 words, phrases and meanings," according to the back text. It's based in Scotland, and so contains a large number of Scottishisms, as well as words from the various varieties of English from around the world.

The definitions are very clear and easy to understand. Similar to Johnson's Dictionary and the Shin Meikai, it is known for having a smattering of quirky and humorous definitions sprinkled about. An éclair, for example, is "a cake, long in shape but short in duration, with cream filling and usu chocolate icing." A mullet is "a hairstyle that is short at the front, long at the back, and ridiculous all round." A jaywalker is "a careless pedestrian whom motorists are expected to avoid running down."

"A short history of English," written by Professor Jeremy J. Smith, begins the dictionary, and this is followed by a section of the "Varieties of English" around the world and the general differences between them and standard British English. These are followed by a section on how to use the dictionary, a section on the rules of (British) spelling, a section on how to pronounce the various foreign words that appear in entry etymologies, a section on how to pronounce the entries based on the symbols used, and a list of the italicized abbreviations used in the entires.

Each alphabetic section of the main dictionary begins with a display of the alphabet in a typeface that begins with that letter. For example, "A" begins with a copy of the alphabet printed in "Arial" and notes that the typeface was designed by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders in the UK in 1982. Don't worry font-snobs (weep, dear Undertale stans) — comic sans and papyrus do not make appearances.

Following "Z", there is a section that lists "Some first names" and their origins and meanings, a section containing common "Phrases and quotations from foreign languages," a section on foreign alphabets and their typical English transliterations, and guides to Roman numerals, the chemical elements, standard units of measurement, scales, wedding anniversairies, mathematical symbols, and planets. All of this is followed by a separetely-paginated section called "The Word Lover's Ramble," by Trevor Barnes, who looked through all of the past editions of Chambers and created this wonderful historical look at how the language has changed over the past 140 years. The 32 pages that make up the ramble feature special sections on swear words, technology, trademarks, words that derive from names, etc. It's a delightful read for anyone with the slightest interest in history, lexicography, or slang.

Chambers fits so many entries into a single manageable volume by not itemizing definitions and related words with line breaks and formatted lists. Definitions are listed one after another with diamonds separating different parts of speech and only a semi-colon separating the disparate meanings. Word derivatives are grouped into three categories, each designated by a different shade of square, and anything falling under one of those three categories (■ derivations, □ compounds, ▨ idioms) is then listed in a similar fashion as the definitions, one right after the other without paragraph breaks. Pronunciations are found at the beginning of entries; etymologies at the end. There are no example sentences or thorough usage notes. The entry for lick provides a good overview of these attributes:

lick /lik/ vt to pass the tongue over (eg to moisten or taste); to take into the mouth using the tongue; to lap; to put or make by passing the tongue over; to pass over or play upon in the manner of a tongue; to flicker over or around; to smear; to beat (inf). ◆ vi to go at full speed (inf); to smoke crack (drug sl). ◆ n an act of licking; a quantity licked up, or such (a small amount) as might be imagined to be licked up; a slight smearing or wash; a place where animals lick salt; a blow or flick (esp Scot in pl a thrashing); vigorous speed (inf); a wag (Scot); in jazz or rock music, a short instrumental passage or flourish (inf). [OE liccian; Ger lecken, L lingere, Gr leichein]
lick'er n. lick'ing n a thrasing.
lick'er-in' n a toothed cylinder that takes in material to a carding engine. lick'penny n (obs) something which licks up, or is a drain upon, one's money. lick'spittle or (rare) lick'-platter n a toady. lick'-trencher n (archaic) a parasite.
a lick and a promise a perfunctory wash. lick into shape to mould into satisfactory form, from the notion that the she-bear gives form to her shapeless youth by licking them. lick one's lips to look forward, or (archaic) to recall, with pleasure. lick one's wounds to retire from a defeat, failure, etc, esp in order to try to recover one's strength, pride, etc. lick someone's boots to toady. lick the dust to be killed or finished off (inf); to be abjectly servile.

To provide a fair comparison between the various reference works on this site, I like to look up the same two words - umbrella and St. Louis. St. Louis is not to be found here; countries can be found in here, but not generally cities. Umbrella is below:

umbrella /um-brel' ə/ n (also (obs) ombrell'a or umbrell'o) a dome-shaped canopy of light fabric mounted on a stick, carried or set up as a protection against rain or sun, that can be collapsed and furled when not in use; anything of similar form, eg a jellyfish disc; a protection; (something, eg an agency, that provides) a general cover or representation; a cover of fighter aircraft for ground forces (milit). ◆ adj broadly embracing or including a number or a variety of things. [Ital ombrella, ombrello from ombra a shade, from L umbra]
umbrell'aed or umbrell'a'd adj with an umbrella.
umbrell'a-ant n the sauba ant. umbrella bird n any number of birds of the Cotinga genus with umbrella-like crest and a lappet attached to the throat or breast. umbrella fir n a Japanese confier with radiating tufts of needles. umbrella group, organization, etc n a group of representatives of small parties, clubs, etc, which acts for all of them where they have common interests. umbrella pine same as stone pine (see under stone). umbrella plant n an African sedge with umbrella-like clusters of slender leaves, a common houseplant. umbrella stand n a rack or receptacle for closed umbrellas and walking-sticks. umbrella tree n any of various trees or shrubs whose leaves or branches grow in an umbrella-like formation, esp a small N American magnolia.


About Encyclopædia Fortuita

"At School" - Jean-Marc Côté

  • Encyclope'dia. n.s. [ἐγκυκλοπαιδεια.] The circle of sciences; the round of learning.
  • Fortu'itous. adj. [fortuit, French; fortuitus, Lat.] Accidental; casual; happening by chance.

Definitions from Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language, (1755).

This blog will provide random (fortuitous) glimpses into the encyclopedias and other reference works I've collected. It will also serve as a comparative guide to those reference works. I'm a long-time collector of reference works in multiple languages, and one of my favorite things is to pick a subject and then see how that subject is explained in the assorted dictionaries and encyclopedias I have at my disposal. This blog serves as an outlet to share this hobby. It will also feature, keeping with its random nature, excursions and tangents into whatever is occupying my curiosity at any given moment.

— Bran(di) Besalke, Confirmed Jisho Otaku. He/they.

辞書オタク力を全面的に発揮
Full use of Dictionary Nerd Power!

(from 「国語辞典の遊び方」by サンキュータツオ)

P.S. If you like the image by Jean-Marc Côté, check out Futuredays, a collection of his futuristic picture cards annotated by Isaac Asimov.

Caveats and Copyrights

All quoted material is copyright its respective owner. I liberally include longer excerpts from public domain reference works, and attempt to keep excerpts from those works still under copyright shorter - all of these are cited, credited, and used here only for educational purposes. This website is completely non-profit. Many of the works featured on this website are historical in nature, and may feature opinions reflective of their time which are NOT the opinion of the website owner - they are provided as a glimpse into the past, to give an idea of how knowledge has progressed. Please always check facts and opinions from these older works against modern sources before citing anything from here or before taking what is presented here as absolute truth. Research is fun!

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