''An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary'' is a
dictionary
A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged Alphabetical order, alphabetically (or by Semitic root, consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical-and-stroke sorting, radical an ...
of
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
(also known as Anglo-Saxon). Four editions of the dictionary were published. It has often (especially in earlier times) been considered the definitive
lexicon
A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...
for Old English. It is often referred to by the names of its compilers, for example ''Bosworth'' or ''Bosworth & Toller''.
Editions
1838 edition
This was written by
Joseph Bosworth, who in 1858 became the Rawlinsonian Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
: the post was renamed in 1916 as the
Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon, in Bosworth's honour.
1898 edition
While being attributed to "J. Bosworth & T. N. Toller", this was a revision by
Thomas Northcote Toller, based on Bosworth's 1838 dictionary, Bosworth's papers, and additions by Toller.
1921 edition
Thomas Northcote Toller issued a supplement in 1921.
1972 edition
Alistair Campbell issued an edition with "enlarged addenda and corrigenda" in 1972.
See also
*''
Toronto Dictionary of Old English'', an attempt to compile a comprehensive and exhaustive dictionary beginning in 1970, founding editors
Angus Cameron and
Christopher Ball.
References
*Bosworth, J., & Toller, T. Northcote. (1898). ''An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. (Based on Bosworth's 1838 dictionary, his papers & additions by Toller)
*Toller, T. Northcote. (1921). ''An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary: Supplement''. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
*Campbell, A. (1972). ''An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary: Enlarged addenda and corrigenda''. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
External links
''An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online''The 1838 edition
*An OCR text version of th
1898 edition
{{Authority control
Old English dictionaries
1838 books