THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE WORDS.--Every word is given in its _alphabetical_
order, except in cases where, to save space, derivatives are given after
and under the words from which they are derived. Each uncompounded verb has
its participles, when irregular, placed after it. Exceptional plurals are
also given. When a word stands after another, with no meaning given, its
meanings can be at once formed from those of the latter, by adding the
signification of the affix: thus the meanings of _Darkness_ are obtained by
prefixing the meaning of _ness_, _state of being_, to those of _Dark_.
Many words from French and other tongues, current in English usage, but not
yet fairly Anglicised, are inserted in the list of Foreign Phrases, &c., at
the end, rather than in the body of the Dictionary.
THE PRONUNCIATION.--The Pronunciation is given immediately after each word,
by the word being spelled anew. In this new spelling, every consonant used
has its ordinary unvarying sound, _no consonant being employed that has
more than one sound_. The same sounds are always represented by the same
letters, no matter how varied their actual spelling in the language. No
consonant used has any mark attached to it, with the one exception of _th_,
which is printed in common letters when sounded as in _thick_, but in
italics when sounded as in _th_en. _Unmarked vowels_ have always their
short sounds, as in _lad_, _led_, _lid_, _lot_, _but_, _book_. The _marked
vowels_ are shown in the following line, which is printed at the top of
each page:--
f[=a]te, fär; m[=e], h[.e]r; m[=i]ne; m[=o]te; m[=u]te; m[=oo]n; _th_en.
The vowel _u_ when marked thus, _ü_, has the sound heard in Scotch _bluid_,
_gude_, the French _du_, almost that of the German _ü_ in _Müller_. Where
more than one pronunciation of a word is given, that which is placed first
is more accepted.
THE SPELLING.--When more than one form of a word is given, that which is
placed first is the spelling in current English use. Unfortunately our
modern spelling does not represent the English we actually speak, but
rather the language of the 16th century, up to which period, generally
speaking, English spelling was mainly phonetic, like the present German.
The fundamental principle of all rational spelling is no doubt the
representation of every sound by an invariable symbol, but in modern
English the usage of pronunciation has drifted far from the conventional
forms established by a traditional orthography, with the result that the
present spelling of our written speech is to a large extent a mere exercise
of memory, full of confusing anomalies and imperfections, and involving an
enormous and unnecessary strain on the faculties of learners. Spelling
reform is indeed an imperative necessity, but it must proceed with a wise
moderation, for, in the words of Mr Sweet, 'nothing can be done without
unanimity, and until the majority of the community are convinced of the
superiority of some one system unanimity is impossible.' The true path of
progress should follow such wisely moderate counsels as those of Dr J. A.
H. Murray:--the dropping of the final or inflexional silent _e_; the
restoration of the historical _-t_ after breath consonants; uniformity in
the employment of double consonants, as in _traveler_, &c.; the discarding
of _ue_ in words like _demagogue_ and _catalogue_; the uniform levelling of
the agent _-our_ into _-or_; the making of _ea = [)e]_ short into _e_ and
the long _ie_ into _ee_; the restoration of _some_, _come_, _tongue_, to
their old English forms, _sum_, _cum_, _tung_; a more extended use of _z_
in the body of words, as _chozen_, _praize_, _raize_; and the correction of
the worst individual monstrosities, as _foreign_, _scent_, _scythe_,
_ache_, _debt_, _people_, _parliament_, _court_, _would_, _sceptic_,
_phthisis_, _queue_, _schedule_, _twopence-halfpenny_, _yeoman_, _sieve_,
_gauge_, _barque_, _buoy_, _yacht_, &c.
Already in America a moderate degree of spelling reform may be said to be
established in good usage, by the adoption of _-or_ for _-our_, as _color_,
_labor_, &c.; of _-er_ for _-re_, as _center_, _meter_, &c.; _-ize_ for
_-ise_, as _civilize_, &c.; the use of a uniform single consonant after an
unaccented vowel, as _traveler_ for _traveller_; the adoption of _e_ for
_oe_ or _æ_ in _hemorrhage_, _diarrhea_, &c.
THE MEANINGS.--The current and most important meaning of a word is usually
given first. But in cases like _Clerk_, _Livery_, _Marshal_, where the
force of the word can be made much clearer by tracing its history, the
original meaning is also given, and the successive variations of its usage
defined.
THE ETYMOLOGY.--The Etymology of each word is given after the meanings,
within brackets. Where further information regarding a word is given
elsewhere, it is so indicated by a reference. It must be noted under the
etymology that whenever a word is printed thus, BAN, BASE, the student is
referred to it; also that here the sign--is always to be read as meaning
'derived from.' Examples are generally given of words that are cognate or
correspond to the English words; but it must be remembered that they are
inserted merely for illustration. Such words are usually separated from the
rest by a semicolon. For instance, when an English word is traced to its
Anglo-Saxon form, and then a German word is given, no one should suppose
that our English word is derived from the German. German and Anglo-Saxon
are alike branches from a common Teutonic stem, and have seldom borrowed
from each other. Under each word the force of the prefix is usually given,
though not the affix. For fuller explanation in such cases the student is
referred to the list of Prefixes and Suffixes in the Appendix.
* * * * *