A Dictionary of the English Language
In June 1746, a consortium of London's most successful printers gathered to solve a pressing problem. Robert Dodsley and Thomas Longman could not afford the task alone. They needed an authoritative dictionary for the English language. The public was reading more than ever before. Technical advances in printing had made books cheap enough for ordinary people. Yet no single volume existed to standardize grammar or spelling. These men offered Samuel Johnson one thousand five hundred guineas. That sum equaled about fifteen hundred seventy-five pounds. It was a massive amount of money at the time. Johnson agreed to write the book within three years. He would work entirely on his own. No academy would help him. No committee would review his drafts. This contract marked the beginning of a seven-year struggle.
Johnson worked from a house at 17 Gough Square in London between 1746 and 1755. He wrote his Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language by 1747. The plan outlined how he intended to organize the entries. He believed literary quotations were essential for defining words correctly. Clerks copied illustrative passages from books that Johnson had already marked. He produced over one hundred fourteen thousand such quotes. Shakespeare, Milton, and Dryden appeared most frequently in these examples. The final list contained forty-two thousand seven hundred seventy-three words. Some definitions ran longer than others. The word Take held one hundred thirty-four separate meanings across five pages. Turn carried sixteen distinct definitions with fifteen illustrations. Time possessed twenty different senses supported by fourteen examples. Johnson added notes on usage rather than just listing definitions. He introduced humor into many entries. One definition described oats as grain given to horses in England but used to support people in Scotland. Another called a lexicographer a harmless drudge who traces original meanings.
The first edition appeared on the 4th of April 1755 in two large folio volumes. Each page measured tall and nearly wide. The paper cost nearly one thousand six hundred pounds alone. This expense exceeded what Johnson received for writing the entire book. The title page printed Samuel Johnson's name and English Language in red ink. All other text appeared in black. The preface used four point six millimeter type while the main text utilized three point five millimeter pica. Subsequent printings grew to four volumes. These stacks reached heights of several feet and weighed nearly fifty pounds. The price tag stood at four pounds ten shillings. That amount discouraged most buyers. By 1784 only about six thousand copies had sold. Thirty years after publication meant an average sale of two hundred books per year. An abridged version arrived in 1756 with two octavo volumes. It contained twenty thousand entries abstracted from the folio edition. This smaller format lacked literary quotes but remained cheaper to produce. Sales of this version exceeded one thousand copies annually for thirty years.
Adam Smith offered a judicious assessment in the pro-Whig Edinburgh Review. He wished Johnson had censured words not of approved use more often. John Horne Tooke became perhaps the loudest detractor early on. He called the work one of the most idle performances ever offered to the public. Horace Walpole predicted Johnson's reputation would not last long. Yet admirers outnumbered these critics repeatedly. Boswell recorded that a lady once asked how he defined pastern as the knee of a horse. Johnson replied simply ignorance pure ignorance. Another definition described network as anything reticulated or decussated at equal distances. Critics noted his etymologies were poor by modern standards. He preferred spellings pointing to Latin sources like ache instead of ake. His lack of sound scholarship prevented him from detecting frequent errors. Some choices remained inconsistent throughout the text. He retained the Latin p in receipt yet left it out of deceit. He spelled deign one way and disdain another. Despite these flaws, universal appreciation greeted the content immediately after publication. Important periodicals wrote enthusiastic notices about the achievement.
James Murray acknowledged many explanations adopted without change when editing the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED reproduced around one thousand seven hundred of Johnson's definitions marked simply J. Anyone seeking to create a dictionary post-Johnson did so in his shadow. By the end of the century every educated household possessed access to the great book. Requests for The Dictionary brought forth Johnson and none other. One asked for The Dictionary much as one might demand The Bible. In 2005 the Royal Mint issued a commemorative fifty pence coin celebrating the two hundred fiftieth anniversary. The influence established both a methodology for how dictionaries should be put together and a paradigm for presentation. No subsequent work escaped this framework entirely. The scope and structure carried forward into Noah Webster's Webster's Dictionary in 1828. Later editions of the Oxford English Dictionary followed suit decades later. The original goal had been publishing in two folio volumes A through K and L through Z. That proved unwieldy unprofitable and unrealistic. Subsequent printings ran to four volumes instead.
Ferdinando Bottarelli published a pocket dictionary of Italian French and English in 1777. His authorities for French and Italian words came from academies but he used Johnson for English. Giuseppe Baretti chose the Dictionary as the model for his Italian-English dictionary of 1760. It was translated into French and German shortly after publication. American lexicographers argued fiercely over Johnson's legacy. Noah Webster declared Great Britain should no longer be our standard in 1789. Joseph Emerson Worcester completed his Universal and Critical Dictionary of the English Language in 1846. He defended Johnson arguing it remained far more than any other regarded as the standard. Legislators often consult historical meanings to understand legislation today. As long as the American Constitution remains intact Johnson's Dictionary plays a role in law. The Florentine Accademia president called it a perpetual Monument of Fame to the Author. This work served as a model for lexicographers abroad beyond Johnson's own circle. Copies were exported to America where they became seminal authority on language.
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Common questions
When was A Dictionary of the English Language published?
The first edition appeared on the 4th of April 1755 in two large folio volumes. Subsequent printings grew to four volumes due to the unwieldy nature of the original plan.
How much did Samuel Johnson receive for writing A Dictionary of the English Language?
A consortium of London printers offered Samuel Johnson one thousand five hundred guineas which equaled about fifteen hundred seventy-five pounds. This sum exceeded what he received for writing the entire book when compared to the paper costs alone.
Where did Samuel Johnson work while creating A Dictionary of the English Language?
Johnson worked from a house at 17 Gough Square in London between 1746 and 1755. He wrote his Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language by 1747 before beginning the main project.
What is the significance of A Dictionary of the English Language to modern dictionaries?
James Murray acknowledged many explanations adopted without change when editing the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED reproduced around one thousand seven hundred of Johnson's definitions marked simply J.
Who criticized A Dictionary of the English Language upon its release?
John Horne Tooke became perhaps the loudest detractor early on calling the work one of the most idle performances ever offered to the public. Horace Walpole predicted Johnson's reputation would not last long despite universal appreciation greeting the content immediately after publication.