[Ads-l] Antedating of "Lexicographer"

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Sat Dec 13 16:39:34 UTC 2014


At 12/13/2014 07:46 AM, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
>lexicographer (OED 1658)
>
>1625 Thomas Wise _Animadversions upon Lillies grammar_ 46 (Early 
>English Books Online)  I thinke that therein _Lilly_ was in part 
>deceiued, for _caffis_ and _cuspis_ are originally latine words, not 
>to bee found in any greeke Lexicographer.

How dare anyone animadvert upon Lillies grammar!!  It was used in the 
17th and 18th centuries to teach Latin (and proper behavior) to 
hundreds of Boston grammar-school boys, including surely Cotton 
Mather.  And was even hugely popular in England.

(Some editions of _Lily's Grammar_ contained his "Carmen de Moribus," 
a poem in Latin outlining rules of conduct for school-boys.)

Joel 

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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