A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words Are Deduced from Their Originals, and Illustrated in Their Different Significations by Examp

By Samuel Johnson

Book Overview

Surprising, colorful, and long-forgotten entries from the most famous dictionary in the history of the English language

Samuel Johnson's best-known work, A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), is the most influential and idiosyncratic lexicon ever written and was used by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, the Bront s and the Brownings, Thomas Hardy and Oscar Wilde. This anthology includes 4,000 of the most representative, entertaining, and historically fascinating entries, covering subjects from fashion to food, science to sex, and given in full with original spelling and examples of usage from Shakespeare to Milton.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0141441577
• ISBN13: 9780141441573
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.2" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Interesting Read

I bought this as a graduation present for my best friend and spent some time just thumbing through this book. It is definitely an interesting read; especially with the origins of each entry.