''A Dictionary of Love, Or, the Language of Gallantry Explained'' is a

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...

compiled by the British author

John Cleland John Cleland (c. 1709, baptised – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist best known for his fictional '' Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'', whose eroticism led to his arrest. James Boswell called him "a sly, old malcont ...

in 1753 and revised in 1777 and 1795. There is no evidence that Cleland was involved with the 1753 revision, and he died in 1789. It continued to appear in reprints until 1825. It explains the words used by lovers in conversation and

courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...

in an 'unsentimental' way, cynically interpreting the terms to suggest that readers should not take lovers' words literally.

French source used

Cleland produced the dictionary as a partial translation of the French ''Dictionnaire d’Amour'' of 1741 by Jean-François Dreux du Radier, with additions of his own which comprise about a quarter of the entries, and about a fifth of the original content omitted.

Publication

The dictionary was originally published as an anonymous work by

Ralph Griffiths Ralph Griffiths (c.1720 – 28 September 1803) was an English journal editor and publisher of Welsh extraction. In 1749, he founded London's first successful literary magazine, the ''Monthly Review'' (1749–1845), and remained its editor un ...

, who also published Cleland's novel ''

Fanny Hill ''Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure''—popularly known as ''Fanny Hill''—is an erotic novel by English novelist John Cleland first published in London in 1748. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London,Wagner, "Introduction", ...

''. Griffiths reviewed the book in his journal, the ''

Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'', established in 1949, is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. The publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

''. Because of the lack of attribution, its authorship was unknown for many years, but in 1979

Roger Lonsdale Roger Harrison Lonsdale, FBA (6 August 1934 – 28 February 2022) was a British literary scholar and academic born in Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire. He was a Fellow and Tutor at Balliol College Oxford from 1963 to 2000, and Professor of Engli ...

discovered a note by Griffiths in his own copy of the review, identifying 'Mr Cleland' as the author.

References

External links

Online searchable version of ''Dictionary of Love''
1753 non-fiction books Dictionaries by subject Love Works published anonymously {{Dictionary-stub