The First English Dictionary 1604 by Robert Cawdrey & John Simpson


ISBN
9781851243884
Published
Binding
Paperback
Dimensions
129 x 198mm

Here is a real treat for lovers of English - the very first dictionary in our language. Contrary to popular opinion, this honour goes not to Samuel Johnson, whose definitive tome appeared in 1755, but to Robert Cawdrey, who published his Table Alphabeticall in 1604.

Written for the benefit of Ladies, Gentlewomen or any other unskilfull persons, this was not a book for scholars but was aimed squarely at the non-fiction best-seller list of its day. It is a treasure-house of meaning, bristling with arresting and eminently quotable definitions. For example geometrie is the 'art of measuring the earth', and hecticke is 'inflaming the hart, and soundest parts of the bodie', while barbarian is 'a rude person', and a concubine is a 'harlot, or light huswife'.

Cawdrey did set out to create an exhaustive catalogue of the language but rather a guide which would unlock the mystery of hard usual English wordes, borrowed from the Hebrew, Greeke, Latine, or French for educated gentlefolk encountering new words which English was then absorbing at a phenomenal rate.

Every entry in this list of 2,543 words sheds interesting light on early modern life and the development of the language. This edition, prepared from the sole surviving copy of the first edition, now in the Bodleian Library, also includes an extensive introduction setting the dictionary in its historical, social and literary context, and exploring the unusual and interesting career of its little-known author.

Published eight years ahead of the first of the first Italian dictionary and 35 years ahead of the first French dictionary, this work shows Cawdrey as a man ahead of his time and foreshadows the phenomenal growth of English and its eventual triumph as the new global lingua franca.
Christmas Catalogue 2024 x BookFrenzy
15.29
RRP: $17.99
15% off RRP



Instore Price: $17.99
Enter your Postcode or Suburb to view availability and delivery times.
If ordered before the 26th of November, this product should arrive by Christmas unless it is going to regional Australia

Other Titles by Robert Cawdrey & John Simpson

Our Friends In Beijing
49.99
42.49
15% Off

You might also like

The Golden Road
39.99
33.99
15% Off
The Soul
49.99
39.99
20% Off
Unruly
26.99
22.94
15% Off
Emperor of Rome
27.99
23.79
15% Off
Jerusalem
26.99
22.94
15% Off
Fake History
24.99
21.24
15% Off
Russia
26.99
22.94
15% Off
Mutiny On The Bounty
Peter FitzSimons
36.99
31.44
15% Off
Hell Ship
24.99
21.24
15% Off
The AngloSaxons
22.99
19.54
15% Off

RRP refers to the Recommended Retail Price as set out by the original publisher at time of release.
The RRP set by overseas publishers may vary to those set by local publishers due to exchange rates and shipping costs.
Due to our competitive pricing, we may have not sold all products at their original RRP.