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Ian Brach

CLT2044

11/23/10

An Examination ofThe Meaning of Everything

Many students sift through dictionaries without regard to the preeminent effort that was

required to devise such a colossal work. The Meaning of Everythingby Simon Winchester

provides a pristine understanding without embellishing or compromises succinctness. From the

origins of the language to propositions for future modifications of our current dictionary, the

book is devoid of very little pertinent importance.

Winchester begins the novel by delineating the English languages development and

eclecticism. He marks its complexities, laggard progress, multiplicity of sources contributing to

expansion and reformation, and contemporary words originating from these sources. English

appears to exemplify the stagnant velocity at which languages grow and the multitudinous stock

of words they achieve after years of seasoning. What to most illuminates as a spectacle is, to

lexicographers, a tortuous enigma whose origins must be ascertained for understanding. These

considerations support the disproportion of the need for a dictionary and its relatively short

existence. It wasnt until the early 1600s that someone attempted to suffer in the travail of

compiling the entirety of English words into a single work. A deluge of endeavors to create

dictionaries followed. These early attempts were unsuccessful in obtaining longevity due not

only to the perpetual change English bears, but also to the abbreviation and lack of

consummation the beginning dictionaries featured.

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It wasnt until 1755 when Samuel Johnson manufactured a compilation worthy of

veneration as the precedent to modern dictionaries. Johnson met ambivalence in his expedition.

He was a pedantic advocate of adhering to the original customs of a language. With the constant

mutations that English undergoes, he decided to dismiss his tendency and write with foresight

and respect to inevitability. The book became a ubiquitous resort to literary confusion. This

success incited criticism and acclaim but, most importantly, competition. Websters dictionary is

the most notable of competitors. His was more comprehensive and objective, which resulted in

its supplanting of Johnsons dictionary.

How incomplete these works were in relation to the true breadth of the English language

manifested with time. A coalition of scholars were needed to create a truly consummate

dictionary. This coalition marked the deficiencies of the previously created dictionaries. The

group strived to assemble a book containing the meaning of everything. I believe their attempt to

collate such a creation wasnt incited by the proclivity to advance academics, but also by the

desire for scholarly preeminence. Nevertheless, solely benefits were to be yielded.

The leaders of this collaboration assigned a section of words for which to find them in an

assortment of contexts. They then discerned all the proper meanings of each word, assuring

themselves that no definition of all the potential definitions were overlooked. This is the process

by which words were adequately added to the dictionary.

A succession of the leaders of the philological society persisted for a while. Natural

causes and choices to abdicate leadership of the society generated new headmen. Winchester

thoroughly describes the characters of all of them. I didnt expect so much eccentricity to

pervade each personality. Each were far more than prosaic pedants and carried interesting

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idiosycracies. These personalities were likely more apposite to manufacturing a dictionary able

to be seamlessly used by anyone. No coherence to strict convention would compromise the

diversity and versatility of English. James Murray eventually became the central figure of the

undertaking.

With the process of constructing an absolutely comprehensive dictionary being so

laborious, the volatility of consistency in working on the project is understandable. Also, the

spite and bitter attitude of those collaborating for a common cause are expected. These features

impeded the speed at which the task was completed.

In addition to these complications were the difficulties in negotiating publication of the

dictionary. Finding proper publication compounded the effects of the dissonance among the

members of the society. After being rejected by multiple publishers, Oxford dictionary acceded

to the need of publication. The delegates congregated to forge a contract. An eruption of

disagreement and distaste followed, but eventually settle and the contract was finished. At this

point, 1878, the project was foreseen to be completed in a few decades at most. This prediction is

proven remarkably inaccurate by the copiousness and tediousness of the toil of creating an

extensive dictionary. The project is finished in 1928, 13 years after the unfortunate death of

Murray. Todays conveniently purchased OED doesnt contain nearly as many entries as the

originally published one and to great avail.

I was surprised by the expansive effort of common people. A box was placed in front of

Murrays house for submissions to the dictionary. Interest in such an expedition wouldnt be

widespread today as it was in the times of the OEDs assemblage. How etymologies were

submitted seemed to be overlooked and brought incongruity to the consummation of conventions

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of a dictionary. I was disconsolate by unnecessary biographical information pertaining to some of

the succeeding leaders of the Philological Society, causing discouragement to continue reading.

Although there are a few setbacks, I enjoyed understanding how such an elongated and arduous

process came to fruition.