ONLINE WEBSTER DICTIONARIES SERIES

Words define languages, Janes says, and in turn languages help to define cultures and societies. “But he didn’t get away with ‘tung,’ ‘ake’ or dropping the final ‘e’ from words like ‘doctrine.'” “He had more luck there than most we have him to thank for Americanized spellings of ‘favor,’ and ‘theater’ and ‘defense'” as well as the word “Americanize” itself,” Janes says. Webster was also enthusiastic about spelling reform, Janes notes. Janes said, “This dictionary was the first serious articulation of American English as it was growing increasingly distinct from the British variety.”Īnd that was clearly Webster’s intention, as stated in the dictionary’s preface: “Language is the expression of ideas and if the people of one country cannot preserve an identity of ideas, they cannot retain an identity of language.” Though the first English dictionary dates back to 1604, it was Webster and his 1828 volume that was credited with capturing the language of the new nation. What’s more, the Visual Dictionary Online. Search the themes to quickly locate words, or find the meaning of a word by viewing the image it represents. From the image to the word and its definition, the Visual Dictionary Online is an all-in-one reference. Webster, who lived from 1758 to 1843, was at times a failed farmer, an uninspired teacher, a state representative, a co-founder of Amherst College, a copyright advocate and a friend of George Washington once dubbed by biographer as a “forgotten founding father.” He was also a Federalist and dedicated revolutionary who deeply loved his country. The Visual Dictionary Online is an interactive dictionary with an innovative approach.

ONLINE WEBSTER DICTIONARIES SERIES

All the podcasts are available online through the iSchool website, and on iTunes, where the series has more than 250,000 downloads. In the podcasts, Janes, an associate professor in the UW Information School, explores the origin and often evolving meaning of historical documents, both famous and less known.

Online webster dictionaries