With certain exceptions, this Dictionary is built up, as a
Dictionary should be, on quotations, and these are very
copious. It may even be thought that their number is too
large. It is certainly larger, and in some places the
quotations themselves are much longer, than could ever be
expected in a general Dictionary of the English Language. This
copiousness is, however, the advantage of a special Dictionary.
The intention of the quotations is to furnish evidence that a
word is used as an English word; and many times the quotation
itself furnishes a satisfactory explanation of the meaning. I
hope, however, I shall not be held responsible for all the
statements in the quotations, even where attention is not drawn
to their incorrectness. Sundry Australasian uses of words are
given in other dictionaries, as, for instance, in the parts
already issued of the <i>Oxford English Dictionary</i> and in
<i>The Century</i>, but the space that can be allotted to them
in such works is of necessity too small for full explanation.
Efforts have been made to select such quotations as should in
themselves be interesting, picturesque, and illustrative. In a
few cases they may even be humorous.
Moreover, the endeavour has been constant to obtain quotations
from all parts of the Australasian Colonies--from books that
describe different parts of Australasia, and from newspapers
published far and wide. I am conscious that in the latter
division Melbourne papers predominate, but this has been due to
the accident that living in Melbourne I see more of the
Melbourne papers, whilst my friends have sent me more
quotations from books and fewer from newspapers.
The quotations, however, are not all explanatory. Many times
a quotation is given merely to mark the use of a word at a
particular epoch. Quotations are all carefully dated and
arranged in their historical order, and thus the exact
chronological development of a word has been indicated. The
practice of the `O.E.D.' has been followed in this respect and
in the matter of quotations generally, though as a rule the
titles of books quoted have been more fully expressed here than
in that Dictionary. Early quotations have been sought with
care, and a very respectable antiquity, about a century, has
been thus found for some Australasian words. As far as
possible, the spelling, the stops, the capitals, and the
italics of the original have been preserved. The result is
often a rich variety of spelling the same word in consecutive
extracts.
The last decade has been a very active time in Australian
science. A great deal of system has been brought into its
study, and much rearrangement of classification has followed as
the result. Both among birds and plants new species have been
distinguished and named: and there has been not a little change
in nomenclature. This Dictionary, it must be remembered, is
chiefly concerned with vernacular names, but for proper
identification, wherever possible, the scientific name is
added. In some cases, where there has been a recent change in
the latter, both the new and the older names are recorded.