1066 - History of English Dictionaries

A History of English Dictionaries

Johnson’s Talent for Definitions

Johnson's definitions for the most part are admirably succinct

He had a great ability to discriminate senses

For instance, he gives sixty-six definitions of take, supplemented by some fifty further senses of its phrasal verbs and idioms (take away, take care, etc.)

Unlike modern lexicographers, he introduced humour or prejudice into some definitions:

"Excise: a hateful tax levied upon commodities"

"Lexicographer: a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge"

"Oats: a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people"

A detail of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language (1755). The definition of “Oats” is often cited as evidence of Johnson’s prejudice against Scots.