Dictionary

The famous dictionary [blank] Samuel Johnson, published in London in 1755; its principles dominated English lexicography for more than a century. This two-volume work surpassed earlier dictionaries not in [blank] but in the precision of definition. Its strength lay in two features: the original carefully divided and ordered, elegantly formulated definitions of the main word stock of the language; and the copious citation of quotations from the entire range of English literature, [blank] served in support and illustration and which exemplified the different shades of meaning of a particular word. A Dictionary of the English Language included a history of the language, a grammar, and an extensive list of words representing basic general vocabulary, based on the [blank] conversation of contemporary London and the normal usage of respected writers. The original was followed in 1756 by an abbreviated one-volume version that was widely used far into the 20th century. Johnson's accomplishment was to [blank] for the English language a dictionary that incorporated with skill and intellectual power the prevailing ideas and resources and the best available techniques of European lexicography. It was the standard English dictionary until Noah Webster's.