ADVERTISEMENT 
When the Latin and English Lexicon, edited by the late Mr Leverett, was published, an 
English and Latin Lexicon was announced as being in preparation. This work has been carried 
forward with as much rapidity as was consistent with the plan on which it was constructed. 
It cannot be expected that this second part should be either so new or so complete as the first. 
It is always much easier to render foreign into native words, than native into foreign. In the one 
case, each word, which is given as the signification of another, serves for a sign, which admits 
of a wide application; in the other, a word often points only to a single step. In the one, 
the unknown is expressed in terms of the known; in the other, the familiar is exhibited in the 
form of the unfamiliar. Besides this difficulty, common to all languages, there are peculiar obstacles 
to be overcome in conveying a modern language into an ancient. A living tongue is always 
pliant. It readily adopts and assimilates rew expressions for new ideas, by giving a new tinge to 
words already in use, by naturalizing foreign terms, or by a direct creation. In this way it passes 
down from age to age, without growing old. A dead language, on the contrary, being no longer 
kept supple by daily use, is rigid and unyielding. Additions, instead of growing into its body, must 
often bear the appearance of appendages merely, and thus proclaim their own strangeness. Yet 
such additions must be made, or expression will be hampered by clumsy circumlocutions, and 
unwieldy descriptions take the place of significant names. 
To contend successfully with these difficulties must needs require ripe scholarship, ample 
time and space, and useful auxiliary works. But, whether from too low an estimate of the 
importance of the task or an unwillingness to leave more attractive, and, perhaps, more lucrative 
studies, our scholars have not been active in this department. Those then, on whom the labor 
falls, can only do their best. So long a time had been consumed in the execution of the Latin and 
English Lexicon, that it was advisable to be as expeditious with the other as possible, and the 
volume was already so large that little room was left for what, if adequately performed, would 
demand at least another volume of equal size. The book, of which almost exclusive use has 
been made in preparing the part of this work that may be called new, is a late German and Latin 
Lexicon, by K. E. Georges. But this could be made available only by means of a circuitous and 
inconvenient process. 
Notwithstanding these hinderances, it was hoped that something might be put together, which, 
though it could not but be imperfect, should at least be methodical and clear. As the same idea 
is often expressed by the use of different parts of speech in different connections, it seemed 
conducive to clearness, especially in so succinct a work, to bring derived words under their 
primitives, distinguished however by a smaller type. This has been, in some cases, extended 
to words not strictly derived, but only cognate. The objection to such a course is, that oftentimes 
so great a dislocation of alphabetical order is produced, as to render it difficult to find a word. 
This difficulty has been obviated, either by adhering in such cases to that order, or by giving the 
word under its primitive, and referring thither from its alphabetical place. The liberty has also 
been taken of omitting many words which seemed to be of slight importance. Some pages, 
thus arranged, were shown to Mr. Leverett, and met with his approval. 
But it was soon found impossible, from the slowness with which the work advanced, even to 
carry out this plan, and it was accordingly broken off at the word Commence , on the fifty-sixth page. 
No course then remained but to take some manual already in use, and improve it, as far as was pos¬ 
sible in a limited time. Ainsworth’s Dictionary most readily presented itself, and the rest of this 
book, being about five-sixths of the whole, is made up mainly of that. The work of Ainsworth has 
many faults, so many, indeed, that to correct them entirely would be nearly as laborious as to make a 
new book. Among other things, it is so confusedly thrown togethir, that even what is there is not 
easily found. To this point attention has been chiefly directed. The whole has been wrought 
