A complete and universal dictionary of the English language comprehending the explanation, pronunciation, origin & synonymies of each word ... with a variety of other useful information
Bungay, [Suffolk, England]: Brightly & Childs, 1812. First Bungay edition, 4to, engraved title page (verso blank), pp. [v]-xxxiii, [3], 928; 20 engraved hand-colored maps (4 folding), 26 engraved plates; full contemporary calf scuffed and rubbed, but sound; good copy. Includes a number of miscellaneous articles, including those on the origin of alphabets, by the Abbot Anselm, a short essay on the origin and antiquity of the English tongue, an English grammar, and sections on the constitution, government and trade of England. First published in 1774, the dictionary went through many editions over the following seventy-five years, serving "the lower orders for nearly a century, as a dictionary of useful information" (Wheatley). Barclay was the first English lexicographer to introduce synonymy in a dictionary, basing himself firmly on the earlier work of John Trusler, English Synonyms or the Difference between Words Esteemed Synonymous in the English Language, first published in 1766. Vancil, p. 18. Item #34039
Price: $650.00
