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E.W. Gilman INoah Porter, editor-in-chief of the 1864 edition of Webster's Dictionary, wrote in the Preface that his predecessor, Chauncey A. of what were called "the principal words" in the dictionary. When work on the 1864 edition was beginning (ca. 1859), Goodrich decided to put his ideas into practice and began tentative revisions with the assistance of two veteran editors. It became apparent that more help would be needed--Goodrich's health was failing (he died in 1860) and there were a lot of "principal words." To answer the need, two Yale professors were added to the staff: Daniel Coit Gilman and William Dwight Whitney. Porter is rather cautious in his description of the revisions Goodrich had in mind. Certainly the Merriam company did not want to give the dictionary-buying public the idea that Webster's work was being summarily dumped. The basic idea seems to have been the collection of related senses into more tighdy organized groupings in fewer numbered senses. The verb raise supplies an example: Webster's 36 numbered senses, elaborated from the 21 in Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary, have been reduced to 6, with numerous subsenses. Goodrich, had for some time been contemplating a thorough revision So Whitney
Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America – Dictionary Society of North America
Published: Apr 4, 1996
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