Samuel Hohnson's Dictionary. Selections From the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language

Paperback. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary. Selections From the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language. Samuel Johnson's massive two volume 2,300 page dictionary was first published on 15 Apriul 1755, nine years after he began writing it. It marked a milestone in the English language: it was the first English dictionary to focus on everyday words, rather than the obscure ones that lexicographers had concoted, and was th3e first dictionary to enlist the works of Shakespeare and other great writers to illustrate a word's usage. It would be England's definitive dictionary for over 150 years. This shorter edition of the Dictionary, lovingly edited by Jack Lynch, is a faithfuladaption of the original and a treasury of quotations and memorable passages. Its subject range from books and critics to dreams and ethics. It includes three new indexes: one of words found in Shakespeare's works; another of words from other great literary works; and a third of piquant terms used in eighteenth century discussions of topics such as law, medicine, and the sexes. For those who appreciate literature and love languages, this is a browser's delight - an encyclopedia of the age and a dictionary for all ages. 645 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. Academic and Scholarly books and Modern First Editions ,and all types of Educational Reference Literature.).…