Happy Birthday, Webster’s Dictionary - 1828

Words have power. They may be the most powerful object or weapon we have. A bomb may destroy lives, but the words propelled the bomb. Words, oral or written, educate us and provide facts to give our opinions validity. Words convey or conceal our feelings. Words lift one up or tear him down. For a different take on an old saying, “Rocks and falls may break my bones, but words can pierce the heart.” Although we use them carelessly and rarely consider their magnificence, civilization is dependent on words.

Noah Webster was our pioneer in establishing a new language for a new country. His “American Dictionary of the English Language” was first published on April 14, 1828. Happy Birthday, Webster 1828. The hardback book may have lost its charm and usefulness, but the dictionary still exists on computers, tablets, and phones for easy reference.

Webster published a smaller dictionary in 1806, but his “American Dictionary of the English Language” aimed at reflecting the American simplicity of its citizens’ language. The patriotic title was explained in the Preface. “It is not only important, but, in a degree necessary, that the people of this country should have an American Dictionary of the English language; for, although the body of the language is the same as in England, and it is desirable to perpetuate that sameness, yet some differences must exist. Language is an expression of ideas; and if the people of one country cannot preserve an identity of ideas, they cannot retain an identity of language.”

In 1828, the United States was not a world power and had less than 13 million people, so Webster was audacious in attempting to tailor England’s language into a personal American vernacular. He aimed to streamline it to reflect the straightforward American way of dealing with life. He predicted that American English would become the more universal language, which came true.

We live in a morphing world, one that adapts to fit circumstances. Permanence describes a few things. Our vocabulary is ever-growing, ever adapting to usage. Our dictionaries expand as new ideas and inventions enter our sphere, and necessarily so. We readily accept the appearance of new words because we are already using them. Public usage gains a word’s entrance into the dictionary. “Aerospace” was legitimized in 1950. With the advent of the computer, we needed new terminology, from “floppy disk” and “word processor” in 1970 to “keypad” in 1990. In between, we added “microchip” in 1960 and “spell checker” in 1980.

Meanings of words, also, change or expand. In the 14th century, “nice” meant foolish from its Latin origin, which defined it as “not to know.” Slight alterations occurred until the 19th century when it seemed to stabilize into meaning “pleasant or agreeable.” “Awful” meant things worthy of awe with no hint of negative connotations. “Unique” now refers to something being “very unusual,” not necessarily “one of a kind.”

Recently I read that the meaning of the word “literally” had changed. It no longer meant “actually” or “word for word.” The change was recent only in a contemporary sense. My 2000 Random House Webster’s New College Dictionary states, “Since the early 20th century, LITERALLY has been widely used as an intensifier meaning ‘in effect, virtually.’ The senator was literally buried alive in the June primaries.”

Webster’s efforts to simplify America’s language expanded to include his ideas about spelling. While the differences between British and American English spellings are usually minor, the latter appears more logical. Some common examples are color/colour, theater/theatre, or realise/realize.

Some of his spelling suggestions never became the rule, however, even though they may seem reasonable. Public usage eventually determines the definitions, as well as the spelling of words. Lether and fether never caught on, although Webster was correct in asserting that the “a” served no phonetic purpose. His concession was including both spellings side-by-side in his 1828 edition, giving readers permission to use either spelling until one spelling prevailed. He was successful in removing the “k” after “c” in publick and musick. He said, “To add ‘k’ after ‘c’ in such words is beyond measure absurd.”

The 1828 two-volume edition was reduced to a single volume with smaller print on thinner paper in 1847 when Webster died. “The 1934 edition, often called Webster’s Second (an abbreviation of its official title, Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition), was not only larger than all previous editions, it was perhaps the largest mass-produced book in American publishing history, with more than 3300 pages and weighing 18 pounds.”

The origin and evolution of words and meanings are interesting. Webster introduced 690 new words and meanings in 2023, including woke, cromulent, doggo, chef’s kiss, beast mode, GOATED, zhuzh, and smashburger. Definitions and additional words may be found at www.globenewswire.com. According to wordgenius.com, nine words were eliminated that were no longer relevant to society.

Our lexicon will continue to adapt to common usage as it has for over 200 years since Webster boldly established American English as our native language. We can communicate effectively because the list will never become archaic. We are not a stagnant nation, so it is reasonable to assume our language will not stagnate either.

VOL. 114, NO. 15 - April 10, 2024