The Dictionary Society of North America (DSNA) was founded in 1975 to encourage scholarly and professional activities that have to do with

dictionaries 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, p ...

and lexicography. Since 1994, DSNA has been a member of the

American Council of Learned Societies American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. The society, one of the largest professional associations for dictionary-makers, has more than 400 members and sponsors a biennial conference for the presentation of scholarly papers on aspects of lexicographical history, theory and practice. It also publishes an annual journal of dictionary scholarship, ''Dictionaries'' (founded in 1979; accessible online through Project MUSE), and a semiannual newsletter. Copies of the newsletter and tables of contents of the journal are archived at the society's web page (see link below), which also provides news about dictionaries and membership and conference information. Distinguished former members of the society include

Frederic G. Cassidy Frederic Gomes Cassidy (October 10, 1907 – June 14, 2000) was a Jamaican-born Linguistics, linguist and lexicographer. He was a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and founder of the ''Dictionary of American Regional Engl ...

(1907–2000), editor of the ''

Dictionary of American Regional English The ''Dictionary of American Regional English'' (''DARE'') is a record of American English as spoken in the United States, from its beginnings to the present. It differs from other dictionaries in that it does not document the standard language u ...

'', Allen Walker Read (1906–2002), Clarence L. Barnhart (1900-1993), Laurence Urdang (1927–2008), Ladislav Zgusta (1924–2004),

Richard W. Bailey Richard Weld Bailey (October 26, 1939 – April 2, 2011) was an American linguist, scholar of the English language, and the Fred Newton Scott Collegiate Professor of English at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Bailey was born in Pontia ...

(1939–2011), and

Madeline Kripke Madeline Faith Kripke (September 9, 1943 – April 25, 2020) was an American book collector who held one of the world's largest collections of dictionaries. Early life and education Madeline Kripke was born on September 9, 1943, in New London, ...

(1943–2020). From 1995 until 2008, the society made an annual award underwritten by Laurence Urdang, to support promising lexicographical research projects. Two awards for 2009 were conferred in his memory. Michael Adams has prepared a history of the early years of the society; the first of two installments appeared in volume 35 of ''Dictionaries'' (2014), pp. 1–35: "The Dictionary Society of North America: A History of the Early Years (Part I)".

Footnotes

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Lexicography Clubs and societies in the United States Organizations established in 1975 Member organizations of the American Council of Learned Societies