A New English Dictionary

''A New English Dictionary: or, a complete collection of the most proper and significant words, commonly used in the language'' was an English dictionary compiled by

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

John Kersey John Kersey the younger ( fl. 1720) was an English philologist and lexicographer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. He is notable for editing three dictionaries in his lifetime: ''A New English Dictionary'' (1702), a revised ...

and first published in London in 1702. Unlike previous dictionaries, which had focused on documenting difficult words, ''A New English Dictionary'' was one of the first to focus on words in common usage. It was also the first to be written by a professional

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

. Kersey later continued his lexicographic career by enlarging

Edward Phillips Edward Phillips (August 1630 – c. 1696) was an English author. Life He was the son of Edward Phillips of the crown office in chancery, and his wife Anne, only sister of John Milton, the poet. Edward Phillips the younger was born in Strand, L ...

' ''

The New World of English Words ''The New World of English Words, or, a General Dictionary'' is a dictionary compiled by Edward Phillips and first published in London in 1658. It was the first folio English dictionary. Contents As well as containing common words, the dictiona ...

'' in 1706 and editing the ''

Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum The ''Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum'' is a dictionary compiled by philologist John Kersey, which was first published in London in 1708. It was the third dictionary he had edited, after his 1702 ''A New English Dictionary'' and his 1706 revision o ...

'' in 1708. The original title of the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' was ''A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles'', and it was sometimes given the abbreviation ''NED'', for ''New English Dictionary''. English dictionaries 1702 books {{dictionary-stub