Exploring Dictionaries.

What  was the earliest book which listed English words? Why was it considered necessary?

• 1582 - Richard Mulcaster's 'Elementarie' - as an attempt to make the English language and culture more respected and accessible.

What was the first alphabetical English-only dictionary? How many words were included?

• 1604 - Robert Cawdery's 'Table alphabeticall' - approximately 3000 words.

What was different about Samuel Johnson's dictionary and why is it considered so influential?

• 1755 - listed 40,000 words - his style influenced future dictionaries, the history of words were looked up to show change over time (etymology) - used a lot of BIG words that people didn't understand, so it was critisized.

Whey and when was the Oxford English dictionary started? What was different about its compilers?

• The idea of the oxford dictionary originated in 1850s.
• Eventually made in 1879.
• The plan was to create a vast and comprehensive collection of English words from the early middle english period (1150) onwards.
• They examined the history of every word to show how meaning had changed over time.

What are the advantages of the OED online? Using the OED entry provided, explain the semantic shift of the word 'gay' over time, including recent derogatory usage.

Created in 2000.

Advantages :

• Ease and simplicity.
• Updated.
• Search for words, quotations, history- easily.

Gay -
used to mean:

• Joy, poetry, prancing horses, dog tails, prostitution, bright colours and today, homosexuality.
• Gay is socially innapppropriate in a colloquial context.