The western tradition of dictionary making bean with Greeks
when changes in the language made many words in the literature unintelligible
to readers. During the Middle Ages, when Latin was the language of learning,
dictionaries of Latin words were compiled.
The First Dictionary of English appeared in 1604 - Robert
Cawdry’s “A Table Alpphabetical “. This
work contained about 3000 words but was so dependent upon three sources that
it can rightly called a plagiarism. Early dictionaries were generally small and
defined ‘hard’ words and were made by men in their leisure time as a hobby.
John Kersey the younger is regarded as The First Professional Lexicographer
whose introductory work, “A New English
Dictionary” appeared in 1702. Kersey’s accomplishments were superseded in 1720’s
by Nathan Bailey’s innovative work “An Universal Etymological English
Dictionary”. For the rest of that century, it was more popular than Dr. Samuel
Johnson’s Dictionary !
