The first ever English dictionary, maybe…
For anyone interested here’s a very abbreviated rough list of the first ever dictionaries, summarised from Wikipedia:
- First Sumerian-Akkadian word list is dated around 2300 BCE.
- The first surviving monolingual dictionary is Chinese and from 3rd century BCE.
- First Arabic dictionary was from 8th century.
- The oldest surviving Japanese dictionary is from 835.
- The word dictionary was invented by an Englishmen in 1220. There are English-Latin, English- French and English-Spanish bilingual dictionaries from this time.
- First Latin dictionary was published in 1440.
- The first alphabetical English dictionary was published in 1604.
- A Spanish, Italian and French dictionary were published ~1611.
- The first American dictionary was completed in 1825.
I would have thought there would be dictionary of hieroglyphics before any of them, but if there was it hasn’t survived.
So wait is the original meaning of dictionary more like “a way to translate from one language to another?”
Bilingual word lists seem to have been first. I guess it depends on how you define what a dictionary is. The very earliest English one wasn’t even in alphabetical order, which seems pretty important for a dictionary imo!
Oh man looking a word up in that must’ve been frustrating. Like a definition book with a list of words just in the order the author thought of them… Hilarious.
Dr William Minor submitted over 10,000 words to the first draft of the Oxford English Dictionary from a Scottish Lunatic Asylum.
There was a movie about it called The Professor and the Madman.
I haven’t seen it. Is it worth a watch?
I would say it’s worth a watch. I enjoyed it. I’m not much of a movie buff though so.
Neither am I but I’ll give it a go - thanks!
It’s a book too, quite good and worth a read
Maybe they didn’t write it but they must have added a lot of the slurs it has
Is it chatgpt or a stroke?
Just gonna ignore Webster, huh?
Published in 1806?
And?
edit: I think this is probably the question that came across as combative, so I apologize. I would point out that the American in the screenshot did not say America wrote the first dictionary, just the dictionary, and the screenshot cuts out all context to what was being replied to so do we know it’s incorrect? In America, America wrote the dictionary, and this is a world instance. (I actually would not use the word “America” here, but rather “the US”, but I am matching the phrasing in the post title that America wrote the dictionary)
Well I haven’t forgotten Webster, it’s just not relevant because it isn’t remotely close to being the first dictionary. Webster finished his dictionary in 1825. See my other comment for more: https://feddit.uk/comment/2017446
When did anyone, including the guy screenshotted, say anything about the first dictionary?
This is a lighthearted community and this post is pretty trivial in the scheme of things; yet you’re being needlessly rude and argumentative. That behaviour is not welcome here. This is your warning, if you break the rules again you will be banned. The community rules and lemmy’s code of conduct are in the sidebar.
I’m not being rude or argumentative, I’m just relaxing on a Saturday morning and communicating by asking questions. Are questions rude and argumentative?
You’re being unnecessarily combative
If not engaging with you any further. I’d far rather enjoy a glass a wine on this sunny Saturday evening and watch the tennis semi finals (Coco Guaff just made her first masters 1000 final!!)
Read the rules in the sidebar. I clearly explain the difference between respectful discussion and bad faith arguments. Don’t participate in this community again unless you follow the rules.
What about him?
He wrote the dictionary
*a dictionary
