EARLY DICTIONARIES

Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 11 September 1912, Page 3

EARLY DICTIONARIES

Dr. Johnson perpetrated many jokes in his dictionary, but among his most famous blunder* was his definition of "pastern" as "the knee of a horse."

The dictionary makers often took occasion to make their definitions hit their enemies. Wesley defined "Methodist" as "one that lived according- to the method laid down in the Bible." Dr. Johnson defined oats as "a grain which in England is generally given to horse 3, but in Scotland supports the people." He defines "pensioner" as "a slave of state, hired by a stipend to obey his master," which definition was made much of by the doctor's enemies when he himself was awarded a pension. Bailey's dictionary defined the Loriot or Golden Oriole as "a bird that, being looked upon by one who has the yellow jaundice, cures the person and dies himself." Fenning, who was the next dictionary maker, was afraid of this, and merely said ,"Loriot, a kind of bird." But one of the best examples of misinformation was given in the dictionary of Edward Phillips, who in one place declared that "a gallon is a measure containing two quarts," and in another place declared "a quaver is a measure of time in music, being the half of a crochet, as a crochet the half of a quaver," which leaves the subject as clear as mud. In our day the "Century Dictionary" has been supposed to be about tHe last word in such compilations, and yet it has been pointed out that one joke on the Century occurs under the heading "Question, to pop the. See Pop." which may be excellent advice, but raises a laugh, nevertheless. When the French immortals were engaged in making the Dictionary of the French Academy the word "crab" came up for discussion; they were' about agreed to define it as "a little red fish that walks backward," when Furetiere pointed out that it was no doubt a good definition, save for the fact that the animal is not a fish, it is not red until it i s boiled, and it does not walk, backward.