Category Dictionary

Kenkyusha's Lighthouse Japanese-English Dictionary (1990)

Bran

Details

Title: ライトハウス和英辞典・Kenkyusha's Lighthouse Japanese-English Dictionary
Volumes: 1
Language: Japanese / English
Publisher: 研究者
Year: 1990
Pages: 1,808

I have the second edition of this dictionary. This is a pretty straight-forward Japanese-to-English dictionary with approximately 40,000 entries. Its intended audience is native Japanese speakers, but it offers a number of benefits to someone learning Japanese. Like many Kenkyusha dictionaries, it has copious example sentences with each word, providing collocations and idiomatic usage. These sentences are the dictionary's real strength, and they help a learner of either language learn vocabulary in context.

The front inner flap of the dictionary provides place names, while the back inner flap provides a list of famous people. There is a guide on usage and symbols at the beginning of the dictionary, and a one-page pronunciation guide at the end. Peppered throughout are a series of info boxes, providing the learner of English with guidance on specific topics, such as "greetings," "sports," or "restaurants." There are a few black-and-white photographs and labelled diagrams scattered throughout, but this monochromatic dictionary is mostly text.

Sample Entries

In order to allow easy comparison between the different reference works on this site, I use the same entries, where available: "umbrella" and "Saint Louis." I picked these because they generally provide shorter examples, but also because I knew that "umbrella" would likely be found in all of the dictionaries and "Saint Louis" would likely be found in all of the encyclopedias. This dictionary does not generally have place names or other proper nouns featured as entries, though Saint Louis does appear in a special chart on page 41 which lists all of the state names as well as the names of major cities in both English and katakana, next to a map of the United States on the following page. "Umbrella" has a pretty normal-sized entry for this dictionary, found on page 281.

かさ1　傘 umbrélla 🄲; (日傘) súnshàde 🄲, párasòl 🄲 ★ 前者のほうがより一般的。

¶　私は*傘をたたんだ　I ｢closed [folded] my umbrella. // *傘をさしなさい　Put up [Open] your umbrella. // 彼はきれいに巻いてあった*傘をほどいてさした　He undid his neatly rolled umbrella and put it up. // 雨が降りそうだから*傘を持って行きなさい　Take an umbrella with you. It looks like rain. // *傘に入れて下さいませんか（⇒あなたの傘を共同で使ってよろしいですか）May I share your umbrella? // 私の*傘に入りませんか　Won't you get under my umbrella? // *傘が風でおちょこになった　The wind turned my umbrella inside out. // 彼女は私に*傘をさしてくれた　She held the umbrella over me. // 他国の核の*傘の下にいて、果たして安全だろうか　Are we really safe under the nuclear umbrella of a foreign nation?

傘立て umbrella stand 🄲　傘の柄［骨］umbrella ｢handle [rib] 🄲.

The 🄲 marks countable nouns (it is common to say things like "three umbrellas"). The star (★) marks a cautionary usage note - in this case, it tells the user that the former word (umbrella) is more common than the given alternates.

A Dictionary of the English Language (1755)

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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!

Achoo! Looking Up the Common Cold

Bran

Penny received a rather unintended and unwanted present for Christmas: her first cold. It was a very long week and a half, with a very crabby baby, but she seems to have come out stronger in the end. She is now starting to roll over onto her side, which is hopefully an exciting preview of front-to-back or back-to-front rolling. Unfortunately, I did not come out so well after her ordeal. I now have the wretched cold.

The OED first records cold (an acute and self-limited episode of catarrhal illness of the upper respiratory tract, often with sneezing, running of the eyes, sore throat, cough, and slight fever, now known to be caused by any of numerous viruses") in the 14th century. It became common a little later, in the 18th century. My good man Johnson is quoted in the cold entry, with a line from his 154th Rambler: "All whom I entreat to sing are troubled with colds."

Johnson includes the sickness as the 3rd definition of cold in his own dictionary:

>A disease caused by cold; the obstruction of perspiration.

What disease hast thou? ——
A whorson cold, sir; a cough. Shakesp. Henry IV. p. 2.

Let no ungentle cold destroy
All taste we have of heav'nly joy. Roscommon.

Those rains, so covering the earth, might providentially contribute to the disruption of it, by stopping all the pores, and all evaporation, which would make the vapours within struggle violently, as we get a fever by a cold. Burnet.

In Johnson's time, a cold was believed to be caused by blocked pores - the bodily humors became unbalanced as sweat was unable to escape. The 1919 World Book gives another potential cause: "Intemperance, constipation and other unhygienic habits of living predispose one to colds, for when the body resistance is weakened disease germs more easily affect the mucous membranes." (Vol. 3, p. 1469) The entry reminds the reader that quick treatment is important to prevent more serious problems, and unstopping the bowels (proper hygiene!) is crucial in treating a cold: "Rest in bed with little food, hot foot-baths and hot drinks and the use of a purgative will be found helpful." The encyclopedia's advice for hardening the body to be resistant to colds is contrary to that of the German grandmother, who fears drafts to death: "The practice of taking cold baths, sleeping with the windows wide open and taking plenty of exercise tend to keep the body in a resistant condition."

Later reference works are, of course, a bit more scientific. The 1965 Encyclopædia Britannica is incredibly statistical in its entry for cold, common (which introduced me to the wonderful word mucopurulent, or "consisting of mucus and pus"), consisting all sorts of numerical facts: according to the American Institute of Public Opinion, 1 in 7 Americans had a cold the 1st week of November (Vol. 6, pp. 41-42). The average person has 2-3 colds a year. The article also mentions the studies conducted by the Common Cold Research Unit at Salisbury, England, where "normal volunteers, students and others are housed in pairs under conditions of isolation from other people" where they are "subjected to experiment, usually by intranasal instillation of cold virus." There are many other fascinating facts; for instance, cold viruses can be "preserved for years at -76° C in dry ice." Despite their name, "experiments have been carried out in which human subjects have been chilled by standing about in drafts in wet bathing suits, by wearing wet socks, by going for walks in the rain; yet no colds were induced nor were the subjects abnormally susceptible to administration of small doses of common cold virus." (I sure hope they were paid well.)

Basically, the cold doesn't cause colds, people do. Want to avoid the cold? Become a hermit. Genetics also seem to play a role: "studies from Cornell university (Ithaca, NY) indicated that 25% of the students had approximately 75% of the colds in that institution." Another helpful tip is to not pluck nose hairs, as these unsightly "natural defenses" aid in keeping the cold virus out of the nose (p. 43). I appreciate the Britannica's advice concerning cold treatments (including vitamins and diet changes) and their general ineffectiveness: "Most preparations widely utilized for cold treatment are of no more value than sugar tablets. Controlled studies have shown that there is no justification for the use of antihistamine drugs, various preparations of the sulfonamides, penicillin or other antibiotics. [...] if these drugs are used for minor infections, such as colds, there may develop in the nose and throat strains of germs that are resistant to them; they become valueless for the treatment of severe infections to which these germs may give rise." At the same time, however, it is a bit depressing that this information has been around for over 50 years and is still ignored by a great number (if not the majority) of the populace.