I’m Just Curious: Dictionaries

by Debbie Walker

Did you know there is a dictionary of dictionaries? Yup, sure enough. I was at a yard sale recently and there was this huge thing! Well it is a book and it was large so, of course, I had to check it out. (I have a thing for dictionaries)

It is Webster’s Encyclopedia of Dictionaries, North American Edition. So…in this book that if I refer to it as WED you will know what I am talking about. It holds an amazing amount of information.

There is a regular Webster’s Dictionary in it.

Next is a section of Synonyms, Antonyms and Homonyms. Anyone know what all these are? Someday I may use that section.

The next section is Crossword Puzzle Dictionary. I may have use for that one. The next collection is the Medical Dictionary. I probably wouldn’t use that. This dictionary is the 1976 model and is way behind what the computer can tell you now.

So as we travel on there is the Bible Dictionary. I am guessing it’s all the words and maybe names you would find in the Bible. I doubt any of that has changes recently.

Too funny! The next one is the Rhyming Dictionary of one and two syllable rhymes. I would probably be tempted to use that section one day, especially if some part of that would help the kids at school. They loved rhyming stories last year.

Next on this trip through this huge book is the Music Dictionary. So far, in looking at this section, the only thing I understand are the words naming the musical instruments. The other words might as well be written in Greek!

Next in our adventure is the Book of Familiar Quotations. Shakespeare said, “Abuse is the bitter clamor of two eager tongues.” About acting, of course, Shakespeare said, “All the world is a stage.” Now I might use that section for a column someday.

Onward is the Legal Dictionary, I probably won’t be interested in that one. But you never know for sure.

The Dictionary of Scientific Terms, yuck! I have absolutely no interest there!

After that is Outline of U.S. History. Now I may have to cruise that one a bit. The problem I have with written history is you have to think about who is writing what and why. The old writings about anything involving Native Americans is usually trash talk.

Gazetteer Atlas – okay – well it has the information about countries and states. Probably very outdated info, some countries have even been renamed since I left school.

I’m just curious what kind of books you have laying around. Enjoy your read. Questions and/or comments you can send to dwdaffy@yahoo.com. Sub: Dictionaries

Thank you for reading! (Check out our paper online if you can.) That book is so big I think I will give it its own name; maybe a good one would be Harriet!