A.I. and spell-check make choices for writers. With real, physical dictionaries, writers are empowered to decide how to ...

In 1755, Samuel Johnson, a bookseller’s son from Lichfield, published what is still arguably the greatest achievement by any English-language lexicographer, A Dictionary of the English Language.

Eley Williams tells the story of two word-mad characters who work for the same dictionary publisher 120 years apart. This novel is perfect for anyone who loves puns, crosswords and witty writing.

Sheet of 4¢ U.S. postage stamps featuring Noah Webster (1958) (image courtesy the Grolier Club) Noah Webster, The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language, edited by George W. Ogilvie (1907–08) ...

Its full title is Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. The dictionary was published in 1961, and immediately caused a frenzy with its newfangled approach to language.

Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755, defined a paltry 40,000 words.

That still amounts to a whole lot, though! “Today, the Oxford English Dictionary offers readers over 170,000 words,” Dr. Crowley says.

While the Oxford English Dictionary currently dates racism in English to 1903 and racist to 1919, the terms were still rarely used in the early decades of the 20th century.