New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-27
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
wERsTERs INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY.

In fact 70 ell practtcA 1ntenu = hs" WA"
h The result Of ten years Of steady iaoor oy
very large staff of editors and an expenditure VI
100000. In these days the making or Sne r
making Of great dictionary is as extensive 0'Suy
and responsible an undertaking as some great
work Of engineering or public improvement. NO
dictionary Of the English Language can to-day oe
successfully based upon anything less than sur
vey Of that Language In all its ramihcauons O.
spoken In every quarter Of the globe 10 call
such q dictionary after the country OF one section
Of the EnRlish-s peakng race IL to lay IT open 10
the imputasion of parrowpess or provlnciaiism
and 30 indicate limitations which amount 10 con-
sassion that II Ia not intended for the use OF all
who sneak English without distinction OF coun-
%rv WHEN Noah Webster first compiled the parent
az shts work be labored under serious drawbacks
Patriotic sentiment made him DESTROYS OF showing
the world that America could win honor In
photography, and that she was not " beholden' TO
the mother county. In practice. however. Web
star found that he could not rely for his defni-
tions and illustrations upon American literature.
inasmuoh "a there could, at the time. scarcely
be said to be any. As the publishers Of the
International Dictionary remark in their state
ment: ct necessity 1t was mainly the literature
Of British authors which was illustrated in the
lexicon. and It Is curious to note how meagre
n the lht Of eminent American authors that his
National pride could cite and how many of these
names have passed into obscurity. II with this
the reader will compare the American names IN
the list Of authors quoted In the present edition. nc
will appreciate how almost the whole OF Ameri-
oau literature and science has come into existence
since DR.. Webster put forth his work
With the passage Of time the facilities Tor
Communication between nations have so stimuli
lated trade and travel and intercourse that the
whole world IL more coherent and compact than
ever before Especially is this true of the English
speaking people, and this consideration has been
influential in determining the change OF title
which Ggnahzes the appearance OF the new
edition of the great dictionary The publishers say
In naming It Websters International Diction-
AIRY we recognize that the language Of the mother
country now encircles the globe; that the hterar
ture Of each Of it's branches is the common
possession of all: that not only through the
literary, but also through the pt puar speech OF all
these peoplss there runs unity OF structure u
common vocabulary, and substantial identity OF
rhe eutiro language, compared with which all local
variations ore trifing Any complete dlcuolary
of this language must be so comprehensive IN It's
scope and at the same time SO true to those
oanons Of the best usage which are everywhere
acknowledged that it shall be serviceaole 20 the
inhabitants OF Great Britain. Of the United States,
Of Canada of Australia, and to the Engllsh-spesk-
inx population of India and Africa. BEYOND
any other modern ancient tongue, the Englsh
In coming to be q world speech. The extension
over the earth Of the race elements that use
Il a their mother tongue and the strengthening
bond Of unity among all English-speaking peoples,
ere among the most benefcent and significant
facts Of the age 1t is in recognition of this and
of the wide use Of Websters Dictionary as an
authority in Great Britain and it's dependencies,
as we'll as in the United States, that the present.
edition Ia distinotively called The International
The change of title thus explained and justified,
Il remains to ascertain what changes ana I'm
movements have been made in the dictionary. IL
il evident at a first glance that It's bulk has been
materially increased. The pages are longer and
there are many more Of them than in the earlier
editions. Further inspection shows that the def
nitaons have been made much fuller wherever the
Importance msny-sidedness of word demands
such expansion The old principle Of compactness
his not been abandoned. The dictionary is not
an encyclopaedia 1t is still what it always was
speoially adapted to the use of busy people and
peepls whose time is valuable. But 1t has been
altered for the better in being made to embrace
definitions whose fulness does not leave too much
70 the assumed foreknowledge of those using it,
OF course O large number of new words have been
added, and in this department the Judgment OF all
dictionary editors must always be most severely
tested Language that is living is in a constant
state Of flux. Words are coined every day in the
streets and offered one may say. to the public for
acceptance. Perhaps majority of such words have
but an epbemeral existence. Catching the popular
ear ny their association with something recent
they become part of the slang OF the day. With
the passage of the occurrence or thing with which
they were first associated most of them dropped
unra o,,h fhnrn hnNI
ever, words crop up which prove more tenacious
of life These have q general and continuing sig
nidcance, and they come to be adopted into the
laneuare But to arbitrate between the ephemeral
and the permanent is the "crux" of the leXi-
coRrapher, and no matter how conservative and
cautious he may be- he cannot hope to avoid mis-
takes altogether.
The editors Of the International Webster" y
have proceeded upon conservative principles,
which 10 indeed the only scientific method. For
it would be misohievous il those who made die
tionaries encouraged the introduction Of impuri-
ties and vulgarites by giving to every new-coned
slang word that apparent equality of the printed
pare which to most minds seems to put all words
in o dictionary upon the same level as regards
authority. The English language is not enriched
hy such proceedings. On the contrary, it is i'm
uoverished When the vocabulary of educated
men was very much narrower than it is to-day
the written language was as a rule, far more
nervous, v1rile and impressive than it is now.
The best English of the Elzabethan age tof course
excluding Euphuism) still presents standard Of
excellence which very few modern authors have
been able to approach. The nineteenth century,
IN faot, has distinctly vugarzed and aluite ale
the old -pure well of English undealed," and
this process 10 now going on, and must continue
indefinitely under the existing conditions. Die
konary-malers therefore, are under special obliga-
tons to protect the common speech to the extent
Of their ability ond opportunity from this danger
and this deterioration, and 1t Is far better that
thsy should omit and ignore many new words
than thai they should be in any hurry to put
their impr1mstur upon new verbal inventions