  thumb|right|300px|an 1888 advertisement for webster's unabridged dictionary the name webster's dictionary may refer to any of the line of dictionaries first developed by noah webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added webster's name just to share his prestige. the term is a genericized trademark in the u.s. for comprehensive dictionaries of the english language. == noah webster's american dictionary of the english language ==  noah webster (1758â1843), the author of the readers and spelling books that dominated the american market at the time, spent decades of research in compiling his dictionaries. his first dictionary, a compendious dictionary of the english language, appeared in 1806. in it, he popularized features that would become a hallmark of american english spelling (center rather than centre, honor rather than honour, program rather than programme, etc.) and included technical terms from the arts and sciences rather than confining his dictionary to literary words. webster was a proponent of english spelling reform for reasons both philological and nationalistic. in a companion to the american revolution (2008), john algeo notes: "it is often assumed that characteristically american spellings were invented by noah webster. he was very influential in popularizing certain spellings in america, but he did not originate them. rather [â¦] he chose already existing options such as center, color and check on such grounds as simplicity, analogy or etymology".algeo, john. "the effects of the revolution on language", in a companion to the american revolution. john wiley & sons, 2008. p.599 he spent the next two decades working to expand his dictionary. === adel first edition 1828 ===  in 1828, at the age of 70, noah webster published his american dictionary of the english language (adel) in two quarto volumes containing 70,000 entries,{{cite web|url=http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/pwebrecon.cgi?v1=2&ti=1,2&search%5farg=compendious%20dictionary%20of%20the%20english%20language&search%5fcode=tall&cnt
English_dictionaries