- Paperback: 64 pages
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press (28 Mar 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0521565944
- ISBN-13: 978-0521565943
- Product Dimensions: 21 x 15.5 x 1.2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,392,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
This is the first electronic edition of one of the most important works ever compiled in English. Dr Johnson's Dictionary remains a major resource for and cornerstone of the English language. This CD-ROM presents the key 1755 and 1773 (First and Fourth) Editions, both of which have been available previously only in print facsimiles. Here the texts of both Editions have been transcribed and may be viewed side by side. In addition, digitized images of all the original pages are supplied. The software allows rapid searching of both Editions of the Dictionary for words, phrases, headwords, quotations and source-authors. The only publication ever to reproduce the key First and Fourth Editions of Johnson's Dictionary together, this CD-ROM will be of value to dictionary lovers and Johnsonians as well as to scholars, teachers, and students of language, literature, lexicography, history, and eighteenth-century studies.
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4 reviews
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
A mammoth achievement, in a convenient format
28 Jan 2000
Format:CD-ROM
No, Samuel Johnson did not write the first English Dictionary. Let's dispense with that up front. However, he did write an incredibly high quality one, the first high quality English Dictionary actually, and he did it practically singlehandedly. (For the details of the effort, please see "The Making of Johnson's Dictionary," by Reddick, also available here at Amazon.)
Johnson wrote his Dictionary at a time when people read Dictionaries, not just referred to them. Knowing that, Johnson pursued his goal of putting a stake in the ground as to the meaning of words while developing and promoting a point of view; he was very careful about the quotations he used to illustrate his words, and the choices he made have been the subject of numerous books.
Johnson knew, in writing a Dictionary, that any attempt to cement the language was due to failure, and he said as much in his famous Preface. However, he felt obliged to make an effort (heck, he'd already received some advance money, and had to make good!), and over the course of years produced a volume that reigned supreme until the advent of the Oxford English Dictionary.
(You may already be aware of amusing definitions found within, such as oats, pensioner, etc., but it would be a shame to let the amusement distract you from the achievement that this represents.)
McDermott has included both the 1st and 4th editions on this CD-ROM, thus providing the two major editions Johnson produced (other editions are either skeletons, sans quotations, or very similar to these here), and its presence on CD-ROM makes it mcuh handier than pulling two heavy volumes off the shelf (which would cost you thousands of dollars anyway). I only have two regrets, neither of which should stop you from buying this. One, the CD-ROM does not include Johnson's Preface (it is easily available in paperback Johnson anthologies, but the absence seems pointless). Two, unless I haven't figured the interface out, it's a bit clunky: words are not searchable, one must click sections open.
That being said, I am still very glad I have my copy, and I bought a second for my alma mater.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
May not run on Windows Vista
13 Sep 2007
Format:CD-ROM
My copy of this product ran wonderfully on Windows XP, but will not install on Windows Vista.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Samuel Johnson's Monumental Dictionary in the 1979 Arno Press Edition
2 Feb 2010
Format:Hardcover
This huge reprint of Samuel Johnson's great English language dictionary (1st edition of 1755) was published in 1979 by Arno Press and is long out of print.
If you love the English language, consider adding this remarkable work to your collection. Dr. Johnson was as witty as he was brilliant, and his dictionary, unlike many others, is actually fun to read.
Other reviews here refer to a CD-Rom version. However, if you can find it, and afford it, treat yourself to the book.
If you love the English language, consider adding this remarkable work to your collection. Dr. Johnson was as witty as he was brilliant, and his dictionary, unlike many others, is actually fun to read.
Other reviews here refer to a CD-Rom version. However, if you can find it, and afford it, treat yourself to the book.
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