PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETTS NEW ENGLISH 

 DICTIONARY. 



The Council of the Philological Society ask help in completing the 

 materials for the new Dictionary of the English Language for 

 which the Society has been so long preparing, and which is now being 

 edited by the President, Dr. J. A. H. Murray; the Delegates of the 

 Clarendon Press in the University of Oxford having undertaken the great 

 financial responsibilities of the work. It will extend to about 7000 quarto 

 pages of the size of M. Littre's great French Dictionary, and will be com- 

 pleted, it is hoped, during the next ten years ; a first part of 400 pages, 

 containing the letter A, will go to press in 1882. The plan of the Dic- 

 tionary embraces the Origin and History {formal as well as ideal) of every 

 word used in English since the 12th century, with particulars, as com- 

 plete as can be attained, as to the first appearance of every word, and 

 every new development of the signification of each word. ' These will ba 

 illustrated by quotations furnished with complete references, showing the 

 written form, use, and construction of every word, century by century, 

 from its earliest known occurrence. These quotations have been collected 

 from the writings of authors of all ages by the voluntary work of Mem- 

 bers of the Philological Society and of the general public, to whom 

 appeals have from time to time been made to help in reading and ex- 

 tracting books. At the present moment more than 600 ladies and gen- 

 tlemen in Great Britain, Americ a, and the British Colonies are generously 

 rendering their assistance. 



For the investigation of the history of scientific words (as to which 

 Dr. Johnson was avowedly incurious, but to which the new Dictionary 

 will do full justice) special help is asked from the Fellows and Members of 

 the various Scientific Societies, who are most likely both to have personal 

 knowledge of such points, and to have access to the best sources of infor- 

 mation. Among other learned bodies, the Linnean Society has cordially 

 responded to this appeal, and recommended to its Fellows, Associates, and 

 Members, to render all assistance to this truly national work. 



The general form in which this assistance is asked is that of short quo- 

 tations (with exact reference to book, author and date) for the early oc- 

 currence of any name of plant or animal which has been (in whole or part) 

 naturalized in English, and of early instances of every word of the special 

 terminology of the biological sciences. We want to know when and by 

 whom Armadillo and Wombat, Teak and Tulip, were first used in English ; 

 who invented (introduced, or translated) acinaciform, achene, marsupial, 

 mesoblast, parthenogenesis, biology, and all the other words of scientific 

 nomenclature. We are glad of notes as to the origin of such descriptive 

 names as Arroio-root and Adjutant, or the meaning of such adopted ouea 

 as Gutta Percha. 



Every communication ought to be on a separate leaflet, say half a small 

 sheet of thin note-paper, and arranged as on the example given on the 

 opposite page (see back, p. 3) of the wrapper. They can be sent by book- 

 post (or a single one on a post-card) to Dr. Murray, Mill Hill, 

 London, N.W., who will also supply any further information. 



