Details
Title: A Dictionary of the English Language
Author: Samuel Johnson
Volumes: 2 (facsimile: 1)
Language: English
Publisher: F. and P Knapton, T. and T. Longman, C. Hitch and L. Hawes, A. Millar, and R. and J. Dodsley. (facsimile: Times Books)
Year: 1775 (facsimile: 1983)
Pages: 2,316
This one is particularly special to me. I'm an enormous fan of this dictionary, to the point that I started digitizing this dictionary in 2011. I handed the digitization project over to Beth Young at the University of Central Florida in 2016. (Check it out here!) Part of the impetus for digitizing it was that I had such difficulty in finding an unabridged copy of the dictionary to read; I only lucked into this particular facsimile (at a ridiculously low price to boot) a couple of years ago. This facsimile is not true-to-life sized; the pages are shrunk to about half the length and width of the actual dictionary, and both volumes have been bound together. This reduction in physical size does make it easier to read or randomly browse the dictionary, so no complaints here. The title pages are also rendered in black-and-white (the original had selective red lettering). It is a complete unabridged facsimile, though, complete with all of the introductory material and ornaments. This particular facsimile was published by Times Books (London) in 1983 through arrangement with Japan's Yushodo Booksellers and Toppan Printing Co.
A Dictionary of the English Language, by Samuel Johnson, was published in 1755 in two folio-size volumes (it's about 20 pounds in weight - not exactly light reading). It took Johnson over 9 years of work to compile, and it generally holds the designation of being the first true, thorough dictionary of the English language. Its groundbreaking quality lies in the fact that he illustrates the definitions of the words with quotes from major works of English literary, philosophical, and scientific literature (generally ranging from Spencer on to his own time); this is a feature later adopted by the Oxford English Dictionary and the Grimm brothers' Deutsches Wörterbuch. It is also known for some of the more humorous definitions peppered throughout. A lexicographer, for instance, is defined as a "writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words." Johnson had attempted to get funding for the dictionary from Lord Chesterfield, who reneged on providing a financial contribution, but still attempted to coax Johnson into dedicating the work to him; in possible retribution, one of the definitions for "patron" is "a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery."
Johnson's dictionary begins with a preface, in which he explains his general methodology for selecting, defining, and spelling words. He also apologizes for any faults in a statement I feel would resonate well with anyone now attempting to create without financial resources or abundant leisure time: "In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed; and though no book was ever spared out of tenderness to the authour, and the world is little solicitous to know whence proceeded the faults of that which it condemns; yet it may gratify curiosity to inform it, that the English Dictionary was written with little assistance of the learned, and without any patronage of the great; not in the soft obscurities of retirement, or under the shelter of academick bowers, but amidst inconvenience and distraction, in sickness and in sorrow: and it may repress the triumph of malignant criticism to observe, that if our language is not here fully displayed, I have only failed in an attempt which no human powers have hitherto completed."
The preface is followed by "A History of the English Language" which is essentially an anthology of early English works, starting with a piece by Alfred the Great from the 9th century and ending with a selection from Dr. Thomas Wilson's The arte of rhetorique (1553). These sometimes very long specimens are presented without translation or commentary. This is followed by "A Grammar of the English Tongue," which includes information on pronunciation, parts of speech, syntax, and poetical forms. Here is a chart to help decipher the Anglo-Saxon font used in both the "History of the English Language" and in the etymologies provided for entries throughout the dictionary:
Sample Entries
In order to provide a common ground for comparison between the various reference works in this guide, I attempt to look up the same two terms in each: "umbrella" and "Saint Louis."
Umbre'lla. n.s. [from umbra, Lat.] A skreen used in hot countries to keep off the sun, and in others to bear off the rain.
I can carry your umbrella, and fan your ladyship. Dryden.
Good housewives
Defended by th' umbrella's oily shed,
Safe through the wet on clinking pattens tread. Gay.
The quote by John Dryden is taken from his play Don Sebastian. The John Gay quote is from Book 1 ("Of the Implements for walking the Streets, and Signs of the Weather") of his long poem Trivia, or the Art of Walking the Streets of London.
"Saint Louis," as a geographical place name and not a word in common usage in 18th century England, does not itself have an entry, but we can cheat and split it into its constituent components to provide more examples.
SAINT. n.s. [saint, French; sanctus, Latin.] A person eminent for piety and virtue.
To thee be worship and thy saints for aye. Shakesp.
She will not stay the siege of loving terms,
Nor ope her lap to saint seducing gold. Shakespeare.
Then thus I cloath my naked villainy
With old odd ends, stol'n forth of holy writ,
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil. Shakespeare.
Miracles are required of all who aspire to this dignity, because they say an hypocrite may imitate a saint in all other particulars. Addison on Italy.
By thy example kings are taught to sway,
Heroes to fight, and saints may learn to pray. Granville.
So unaffected, so compos'd a mind;
So firm, yet soft, so strong, yet so refin'd,
Heav'n, as its purest gold, by tortures try'd,
The saint sustain'd it, but the woman dy'd. Pope.
The first Shakespeare quote is from Timon of Athens, the second is from Romeo's pining for Rosaline in Romeo and Juliet, and the third comes from Richard III. As Johnson mentions, the bit from Joseph Addison comes from his "Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703." The quotation from George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne, can be found in one of his poems dedicated "to the King." Alexander Pope's quote comes from his epitaph "On Mrs. Corbet, Who died of a Cancer in her Breast." Finally, here's the closest entry to "Louis."
LOUIS D'OR. n.s. [French.] A golden coin of France, valued at about seventeen shillings.
If he is desired to change a louis d'or, he must consider of it. Spectator, N. 305.
This number of The Spectator was written by Joseph Addison.
Be sure to visit Johnson's Dictionary Online!