Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1860-02-11

OF all incompatible Offices those two arc the most alb
surd when forced into companonship. The true ety.
molocy Of word is to be found in its direct antece-
DENTS and the investigation mag be carried back to
the tower Of Babel, provided always that the invest
gator will keep himself in the direct line But tho
"fogyism" Of prying into the possible relationship Of
possible third cousins in word gencaogy-the conceit
of attaching equal value to actual aud TO i'm
aginary kindred in pathological antecedents, and Of
placing fan led Chocaw root on n par with u
certain Greek root because the two were (if they
wcrel contemporaries in different parts Of the world
this and all this, belongs to the pcdantry, and not
to the science of ctymology. DIR. Worcester dis
eliminates between the etymoogist and the antigua
rs, and declines to mix up the approved pathological
facts of the former with the questionable pathological
antiquities of the latter His eymologies, therefore,
may be relied on; and that is what is wanted by those
who consult etymoogies.
The recommendations Of this dictionary are in confor-
nifty the best usage. In this particular the work
is simply on par with other dictionaries; but we
think Worcesters method of expressing the pronun.
citation is the best have seem because it is the most
ineligible Some Of the sounds Of English sylablos
are hard to be conveyed by English consonants and
vowels.
In photography, Worcester also follows the best
usage Of England and America, excepting the omis-
sion Of in such words honor faror, etc. which the
best English writers still retain. We confess ind
vidua preference for the English mode of spelling
these words, not only on chronological grounds, but
also by reason Of old associations But the custom of
our own country seems to have so generally decided
the question the other way, we have yielded our pref
erence. With this limited exception Worcester's
biography is we believe strictly conformable TO good
usage good taste aud good analogy. The true honest
double Of trareling, rereiiing etc, is retained in
its place preteRcc, offence and defence are spelt
with n c, Of right they should be; theatre, centre,
etc, have their appropriate chronological term-
nations; and whiskey keep the that belongs to
them; mod is not quacked into mold, nor height into
hight In short, the spelling of worcesiers dictionary
is the spelling of educated men and good writers
wherever the English language is known and, after
years of waiting for such an autographed jubilee,
we now feel that we "ake long breath" and say
to the public, here At b1a, is a STANDARD DIcr1oNA-
Ky or THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE!
The mechanical department of this work is, even
in these days of book-naking altogether unrivalled
Such paper, such type and such margins were never
before in dictionary Even the headings Of the
pages, where no one would look for novelty i'm
provcment, are arranged entirely plan that
facilitates the search after word. Indeed, if pub
fishers ever deserved such appreciation be
pressed only by "the superatives of the language"
Hcklioc Swan and Brewer clearly entitled 70 It,
in the matter of Worce,ter's Dictionary.