The First English Dictionary 1604: Robert Cawdrey's A Table Alphabeticall

by Robert Cawdrey, John Andrew Simpson, Bodleian Library (Editor)

English is one of the most complicated languages to learn, and its constantly evolving vocabulary certainly doesn’t help matters. For centuries, men and women have striven to chronicle and categorize the expressions of the English language, and Samuel Johnson is usually thought to be their original predecessor. But that lineage is wrong: Robert Cawdrey published his Table Alphabeticall in 1604, 149 years before Johnson’s tome, and it is now republished here for the first time in over 350 years.

            This edition, prepared from the sole surviving copy of the first printing, documents Cawdrey’s fascinating selection of 2,543 words and their first-ever definitions. Cawdrey subtitled his dictionary “for the benefit of Ladies, Gentlewomen, and other unskilled folk,” for his aim was not to create a comprehensive catalog, but rather an in-depth guide for the lesser educated who might not know the “hard usual English wordes, borrowed from the Hebrew, Greeke, Latine, or French.” Each entry reveals an intriguing facet of early modern life and the cultural mores of the time. There are familiar terms—“geometrie” was defined as “the art of measuring the earth,” and a “concubine” was described as a “harlot, or light huswife”—and amusingly idiomatic definitions: "prodigall" is "too riotous in spending," while "hecticke" is "inflaming the hart, and soundest parts of the bodie.”

            John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, contributes an insightful introduction that recounts the eventful life of Robert Cawdrey and his mission to become the first English lexicographer. A treasure-trove of linguistic oddity and history for the bibliophile, budding lexicographer, or obsessive Scrabble player, The First English Dictionary, 1604 reveals the roots of our language in all its eccentric glory.

Genres: History, Reference, Nonfiction, Linguistics

200 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2007

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

First ever dictionary and very important as Robert Cawdrey went through a legal problem that set the foundations for the fifth amendment of the American consitution. Highly recommend to anyone for the introduction alone to uncover details of this event.

Being that this is the first english monolingual dictionary it is an important book that should be on everyones shelves.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for any library. Read for personal research - found this book's contents helpful and inspiring. A good book for the researcher and enthusiast.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little glimpse into the history of English, and how we think about it. Reading over the period definitions never gets old. This could only be a cooler book if it were an actual facsimile.

[maia · Rating 3 out of 5]

classic, though not quite as funny as cockeram's, definitely a more balanced and carefully considered work though lol. also a very quick read which i appreciate. am i crazy for recommending this for leisure reading... maybe i'm the only one that actually finds this interesting but if you think you'd like it its actually so fascinating..........

[Miles Chicken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ivst wants to make me to write my j's as i's and u's as v's. A planet is defined as 'wandering starre'.

[Marin Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great resource. I particularly loved when cawdrey criticized “english italianated”

[Sami]

best