1903.] on Dictionaries. 355 



Grimm, after several years of preparation began to be printed in 

 1852. It had advanced to the word Frucht when Jacob Grimm died 

 in 18G3. After forty years more of work, two generations ot his 

 successors have brought it to the end of S, and its completion may be 

 expected, perhaps, in twenty years. The great Dutch dictionary, 

 WoordenhoeJc der Nederlandsche Taal, was commenced by Matthias de 

 Vries in 1852 ; its first volume, containing half of A, was published 

 in 1882, and it is now about half finished. Of the new edition of the 

 great Italian Vocaholario Delia Crusca, which is to a certain extent 

 on historial principles, vol. i., containing A, was published in 1863, 

 and vol. viii., completing I, in 1899, at which rate of progress it may 

 be finished in thirty years. The famous French dictionary of 

 M. Littre, which is, however, a much less extensive, though perhaps 

 better arranged work than any of the preceding, occupied the author 

 twenty years, and its last volume was published in 1873, with a 

 supplement in 1881. None of these great works embraces so long a 

 period of the language, or is so strictly historical in plan as the 

 New English Dictionary ; they are in truth all dictionaries of the 

 modern tongues since the sixteenth century, with a helj)ing glance at 

 the earlier stages of the language. But the immense pre-eminence of 

 the historical method of our dictionary, with its exact dates and 

 absolute chronological order, have been recognised by scholars in 

 every land, who look forward to the time when it will be possible to 

 follow its model in dealing with their own languages ; and already a 

 great dictionary of the Swedish language has been commenced on the 

 pattern of the English, one of the editors of which spent several weeks 

 in Oxford in order to gain a complete insight into our methods. It 

 may be useful to append a table giving the chief landmarks in the 

 progress of English dictionary-making. 



A.D. 



600. Hard Latin words glossed or explained in easier Latin. 

 800. Latin English glossaries compiled. 

 1000. Extensive vocabularies explaining Latin words in English. — 



^Ifric. 

 1430. Vocabularies rendering English words into Latin begin. — 



Promptorium, Catholicon, Elyot, Huloet, Daret, Cooper. 

 1530. English Dictionaries of French, Spanish, Italian, Welsh. — 



Palsgrave^ Percival, Florio, Salesbury. 

 1604-1720. Vocabularies of hard English words explained in easier 



English. — Oawdrey, Cockeram, Blount, Phillips, Cocker, 



Kersey. 

 1721. Dictionaries of all English words. Derivations given. — 



Bailey, 

 1755. Illustrative quotations added to show literary usage. — 



Johnson. 

 1773. Orthoepy or Pronunciation added. — Eenrick, Perry, Sheridan, 



Walker. 



