Re: Dictionary
Open up a recent Merriam-Webster dictionary or reference work to the
copyright page and you will see a notice that explains this.
Merriam-Webster is the company that Noah Webster started in 1831.
Yes, that's true, and I have all the editions from about 1856 on. But all those other companies that use "Webster's" in the title of their dictionaries cannot make that claim. Nonetheless, there is no legal reason they can't do it.
All that is beside the point, however. Any given dictionary has to be judged on its merits as much as, or more than, on its heritage. Different dictionaries take different approaches and one may appeal to you more than another does, just as a different one may appeal to me more than your favorite does. Clearly the similarities among American dictionaries--in fact, the similarities among all dictionaries of the English language--vastly outweigh the differences. So we're talking about small distinctions at the margins. Nonetheless, these subtleties matter to at least a few people, me among them. It's a peculiar obsessions that began when I was eleven or twelve and that I haven't been able to overcome; I certainly wouldn't wish it on anyone else. So if just any dictionary will do for most people, that's fine with me.
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References:
RE: Dictionary: From: Oja, W. Kelly
Re: Dictionary: From: Bonnie Granat
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