Francis "Frank" Horace Vizetelly (2 April 1864 – 20 December 1938) was an English-American lexicographer, etymologist, and editor.

Life

Vizetelly was born in England, the only son of

Henry Vizetelly Henry Richard Vizetelly (30 July 18201 January 1894) was a British publisher and writer. He started the publications ''Pictorial Times'' and ''Illustrated Times'', wrote several books while working in Paris and Berlin as correspondent for the ''I ...

and his second wife, Elizabeth Anne Ansell. His half-brother was

Ernest Alfred Vizetelly Ernest Alfred Vizetelly (1853–1922) was an English journalist and author. Life He was a son of the English publisher Henry Vizetelly, by his first marriage to Ellen Elizabeth Pollard. He was known as a war correspondent. Ernest was present wit ...

(1853–1922). After an education in France and England, he joined his father's publishing house in 1882; the firm and his father were eventually ruined by convictions for

obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...

resulting from the publication of the novels of

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

. He moved to New York in 1891, eventually becoming naturalized as a citizen of the United States. The publishers

Funk & Wagnalls Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).Funk & Wagnalls N ...

employed him along with Calvin Thomas, beginning on the

Isaac K. Funk Isaac Kaufmann Funk (September 10, 1839April 4, 1912) was an American Lutheran minister, editor, lexicographer, publisher, and spelling reformer. He was the co-founder of Funk & Wagnalls Company, the father of author Wilfred J. Funk (who founde ...

's editorial staff compiling ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language''. His continued to act as an editor for the firm's dictionaries and encyclopedia, and had a column in their ''

Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...

'' known as "The Lexicographer's Easy Chair." He died in 1938, being interred at New York's Woodlawn Cemetery.

Works

Vizetelly was the author of more than 200 works, which touched upon the broad range of subjects, from the humanities to sciences, revealing his intellectual prowess. However, his abiding interest was in literary and lexical fields, and he was frequently engaged in determining the origins and emergence of words in the English language. Vizetelly left a legacy of preserving and refining both written and spoken English and did not hesitate to invoke the authority of William Shakespeare to warn against the misuse of English language, "Slovenly speech is as clearly an indication of slovenly thought as profanity is of a degraded mind. Therefore, let us heed the advice Shakespeare has given us – 'Mend your speech lest it may mar your fortune'." f._''King_Lear''_Act_1,_Scene_1,_Lines_94-5.html" ;"title="King_Lear.html" ;"title="f. ''King Lear">f. ''King Lear'' Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 94-5">King_Lear.html" ;"title="f. ''King Lear">f. ''King Lear'' Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 94-5re
''Mend Your Speech: One Thousand Hints on Words, Their Use and Abuse'' (1920)
by Frank H. Vizetelly.

References

External links

Works by Frank H. Vizetelly in the Internet Archive

Frank Horace Vizetelly: WNYC's Resident Man of Words, 1926-1929
''NYPR Archives & Preservation''
Vizetelly, Frank Horace
''American National Biography Online'' (access requires a subscription) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vizetelly, Frank Horace American lexicographers Etymologists American book editors 1864 births 1938 deaths