How did dictionaries come about? Detailed answer

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How did dictionaries come about? Detailed answer

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How did dictionaries come about?

What is a dictionary, today everyone knows. This is a book in which words are given with an explanation of their meaning, usually in alphabetical order. There may also be information about the pronunciation, the history of the word or the features of its use. Strangely enough, centuries passed before the idea of such a book arose. The first time the word "dictionary" was used, it was used in its Latin form, which means "collection of words." This happened around 1225. It was the title of a book containing Latin words for memorization. This book was only used in the classroom while learning Latin.

In the 12th century, English words began to appear in dictionaries, but they were used only as an aid to the study of Latin. In one of them, about 1552 thousand English words appeared, each with a Latin equivalent. What is considered to be the first real English dictionary was published in XNUMX. The book still had a Latin title, and the study of Latin was one of its main goals. But it turned out to be useful for those who wanted to learn how to read in English. What makes this book the first English dictionary? Finally, the English word was explained in English, and only then came the Latin transcription. This dictionary was compiled by Richard Hewlett and he had a sense of humor!

Here, for example, are excerpts from his first dictionary: "Black (or blue) spots on the face or body received from a blow are bruises; for example, a woman, having a black eye, says that she fell on the fist of her magnificent husband." Gradually, the number of such books began to increase. Many of them contained only a few thousand words, specially selected by the author for some specific purpose. In one dictionary, for example, words were placed not in order, but according to the spelling or pronunciation of the final syllables. This was done in order to help the poets. It was a rhyming dictionary.

The compilers of early dictionaries did not attempt to include all words in the dictionary. Their goal was to explain the meaning of only difficult words. This was the beginning of the creation of modern dictionaries, some of which include all the words of the English language.

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

Why did Prometheus steal fire and give it to people?

Some say that people were blinded from earth and water in the image of the gods by Prometheus, and Athena breathed life into them. Others argue that people and animals were created by the gods from a mixture of fire and earth, and Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus were instructed by the gods to distribute abilities between them.

The improvident Epimetheus generously endowed the abilities of animals, leaving people defenseless. It turned out that the animals were carefully provided with everything necessary for survival, and the man was "naked and not shod, without a bed and without a weapon."

In addition, Zeus decided to starve humanity, forcing the best part of the food to be sacrificed to the gods. However, Prometheus managed to outsmart him. When the question was being decided which part of the bull should be sacrificed to the gods, and which part should be left to people, Prometheus tore off the skin from the bull and sewed two bags out of it. After butchering the carcass, he put all the flesh in one bag, covering it on top with offal - the least seductive part of any animal, and put all the bones in the second, hiding them under a thick layer of fat. Zeus, whom Prometheus offered to choose a bag, succumbed to the deception and took a bag of bones and fat, which since then were considered to belong to the gods.

Having discovered the cunning of Prometheus, Zeus decided to teach him a lesson by depriving people of fire and forcing them to "eat their flesh with raw materials." Then Prometheus stole the fire (according to one version, he took it in the smithy of Hephaestus, according to another, with the help of Athena, having risen from the back entrance to Olympus, lit a torch from a fiery solar chariot) and gave it to people. In addition, he taught people to build houses, ships, engage in crafts, wear clothes, read, write and count, distinguish between the seasons, make sacrifices to the gods and guess. But at the same time, he deprived them of the knowledge of the future (which they previously possessed), so as not to break their hearts.

At night, Zeus saw from Olympus a myriad of fires flickering on the ground and was furious. At his command, Prometheus was chained to the Caucasus Mountains. Every day a vulture eagle flew to him and tormented his liver, which grew again by the next day.

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