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Nathan Bailey's definition of “oats”

Samuel Johnson's definition of “Oats”

parade float to promote Webster's International Dictionary

entry for the word harlequin from the ninth edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

Learn about the history of the dictionary, from Dr. Samuel Johnson's dictionary of the English language to the Oxford English Dictionary

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Key People

Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson

English author

Noah Webster

Noah Webster

American lexicographer

Frédéric Mistral, etching, 1864

Frédéric Mistral

French poet

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce

American author

Elijah Bokher Levita

Italian grammarian

Adamántios Koraïs

Greek scholar

John Ciardi

American poet and critic

Alexandre de Rhodes

French missionary

Adoniram Judson, detail from an engraving by Alfred Jones after a painting by Chester Harding, 1846

Adoniram Judson

American missionary

John Crawfurd

British scholar and diplomat

David Kimhi

European scholar

Reuchlin, Johannes

Johannes Reuchlin

German humanist

Charles du Fresne, seigneur du Cange

French scholar

Karadžić, Vuk Stefanović

Vuk Stefanović Karadžić

Serbian language scholar

Joaquim Dias Cordeiro da Matta

Angolan scholar

Joseph Emerson Worcester

American lexicographer

Furetière, engraving by G. Edelinck, 1689, after a portrait by Seue

Antoine Furetière

French author

Ibn Janāḥ

Spanish-Jewish grammarian

Sir George Abraham Grierson

Irish linguist

Paul-Émile Littré

French lexicographer

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Ultimate Vocabulary Test: Part One

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13-Letter Word Quiz

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Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz

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12-Letter Words Quiz

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Challenging Words You Should Know Vocabulary Quiz Vol. 2

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Sergeant Stubby or also known as Mascot Stubby. Unofficial mascot dog of the 102nd Infantry Regiment of the United States with the 26th (Yankee) Division in World War I. War dog. Possibly a Boston terrier - also sometimes described as a Boston bull terrier

8 Famous Animals