|
Noah Webster was a lexicographer who published A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language in 1806 and American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828. Webster’s dictionaries radically changed the scope of British English to Americanized spellings, which would become standard in the United States.
Noah Webster’s name has since become synonymous with American English language dictionaries. Although many dictionaries have since appended Webster’s name to their titles, in fact, they often have no connection with Noah Webster’s work.
In 1843, brothers George and Charles Merriam obtained the rights to the name “Webster”, unsold books and copyright after Noah’s death.
The Merriam brothers hired Chauncy A. Goodrich, Webster’s son-in-law, to supervise revisions. Subsequently the New and Revised Edition was published in 1847 and the Revised and Enlarged in 1859.
Joseph Worcester, former assistant to Noah Webster, became the major competition of the Merriam brothers with his acclaimed A Dictionary of the English Language in 1860. Worcester’s dictionary included illustrations throughout the text and provided treatment of synonyms, a first for an American dictionary.
The Merriam brothers responded with American Dictionary of the English Language in 1864, the first considerably amended version of Webster’s work, edited by Noah Porter, and also the earliest to be labeled “unabridged”.
The next edition, edited by Noah Porter and published in 1890, was entitled Webster’s International Dictionary of the English Language and expanded on the American Dictionary. The title was meant to convey this Dictionary was srelevant to all English speaking countries, not just Americans. It held 175,000 entries. A 1900 republishing of Webster’s International included a supplement of 25,000 words.
A significantly augmented Webster’s new International Dictionary was published by the Merriam Company in 1909. Twice the number of illustrations and 400,000 entries were contained in this edition. Pages formatting with two columns, subtle shade meaning comparisons, improvement in the number and treatment of synonyms and a chart of Webster’s pronunciation as compared with six competing major dictionaries were introduced.
Webster’s New International Dictionary (Second Edition) was issued in 1934. Commonly known as “Webster’s Second”, it boasted 600,000 entries and a 400 page supplement termed “A Reference History of the World”. It remains a favored dictionary to this date.
Ten years in the making, Webster’s Third new International Diction of the English Language made its debut in September, 1961. A radical diversification from previous Unabridgeds, it totaled 2,726 pages and weighed 13.5 pounds.
Webster’s Third was received with disappointment and criticism. Edited by Philip Babock Gove, several sections were removed that he felt were non-lexical and properly belonged in an encyclopedia. However, many users did not share his opinions and openly criticized the usage of popular English rather than standard English.
In answer to the disparagement of Webster’s Third, the Merriam Company produced the American Heritage Dictionary wherein usage notes were determined by an expert panel.
Encyclopedia Britannica acquired Merriam-Webster in 1964. A three volume supplementation was published annually with a Britannica World Language Dictionary which included translations between English and six languages.
Merriam-Webster has not announced any intentions to publish a Fourth New International edition of the Unabridged.
The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary was launched in 1898. It was established as a different body of work from Webster’s Third in 1985 with the inclusion of proper names and the date of the first known citation of each word. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is regarded as the authority by The Chicago Manual of Style.
In 1917 Merriam-Webster lost the exclusive use of Noah Webster’s name. A US Court ruled that, because Webster’s 1806 dictionary copyright lapsed in 1834, the name “Webster” was part of the public domain. The use of Webster’s name flooded the dictionary market.
Over the years Merriam-Webster has faced competition from such notables as Joseph Worcester, Charles Annandale, Funk & Wagnall’s, Random House and Oxford.
It’s Collegiate Dictionary remains the largest and favored despite the influx of several college dictionaries.
Merriam-Webster has also published dictionaries of synonyms, English usage, geography, biography, to name a few, and non-dictionary reference books.
The 1828 edition is available online, as is 1913 Unabridged edition, the 1961 edition of Collegiate, the latest edition of Collegiate through the Merriam-Webster website and Third New International via subscription.
|