ligent English reader has the most frequent occasion to consult a dictionary, it is one of the most complete vocabularies extant. Those words which are not contained in this Dictionary, but which are found in others, consist chiefly of such as are obsolete or not in good use, and of participles, together with words variously compounded, as with all, dis, in, mis, over, self, un, under, &c.; yet the most important of these compounds are inserted, and the imperfect tenses and perfect participles of all the irregular verbs; and a considerable number of such obsolete words as are found in works which are not obsolete.

This volume comprises numerous technical terms in the various arts and sciences, and a more copious list, than any other English dictionary, of such words and phrases from foreign languages as are often found in English books. This is a class of words with respect to which an English reader frequently wants assistance, both for definition and pronunciation.

The active and neuter verbs are carefully discriminated; all the irregular verbs are conjugated; and the plural forms of irregular nouns are exhibited.

The definitions are necessarily concise; but it is believed that they will be found as comprehensive and exact as could be reasonably expected from the size of the volume; and in numerous instances, technical, provincial, and American uses of words are explained or pointed out.

In preparing this work, much use was made of Jameson's Dictionary; but the two works which may be properly considered as forming the basis of it, are the dictionaries of Johnson and Walker, of which Jameson's professes to be chiefly a combination. It contains, however, several thousand words not found in Johnson or Walker. Mr. Todd added to his edition of Johnson's Dictionary about 12,000 words, and of these Mr. Jameson retained all that he deemed important, and in addition to them, inserted a considerable number of technical terms. The words which Jameson selected from Todd, and the others which he added, are here retained, together with many more derived from "Crabb's "Technological Dictionary," Maunder's "New and Enlarged Dictionary," Dr. Webster's Dictionary, and other miscellaneous sources. But care has been taken not to corrupt the language by giving sanction to new words which are unworthy of countenance. Words from foreign languages and not anglicized, are printed in Italics, in order to indicate, by their dress, that they are foreigners; and generally, words of recent origin or doubtful authority, are noted as such.

In the preparation of this work, PRONUNCIATION has been made a leading. object, and has received particular attention; and as a Pronouncing Dictionary, it will be found to possess peculiar advantages. A prominent feature in

doubtful, or disputed pronunciation; and this volume is so constructed as to exhibit, with respect to all this class of words, for which a pronouncing dictionary is chiefly wanted, the modes in which they are pronounced by all the most eminent English orthoepists. The number of primitive words respecting which the authorities are presented, amounts to about 1,300, and in addition to these, this process also determines the pronunciation of a large number of derivatives. As the pronunciation of these words is regulated by usage, and as there is a great diversity with regard to them, both among good speakers and professed orthoepists, the exhibition of the different authorities seems to be the most satisfactory method of managing them.

The system of notation which is here employed, while it makes a very exact discrimination of the different sounds of the letters, will be readily understood and applied to practice, and will be also much more easily remembered, than a system in which the vowels are marked with figures. By applying the marks to the letters in the words in their proper orthography, the necessity of respelling the most of them has been avoided; and in this way much space has been saved, while the pronunciation is fixed with as much exactness as if the spelling of every word had been repeated.

It is an advantage of this method of notation, that it distinguishes the syllables which receive a secondary accent, or are pronounced with a distinct sound of the vowels, from those which are but slightly or indistinctly uttered. A great part of the words in the English language which have more than two syllables, have more than one syllable in some degree accented, or pronounced more distinctly than the rest; yet this discrimination is not made by the usual mode of marking the words. In this notation, the vowels in the syllables which have either the primary or a secondary accent, have a mark denoting a distinct sound placed over them; while those which are more feebly uttered have a dot placed underneath them, indicating that the voice passes quickly and slightly over them. By this means, the pronunciation of a great part of the words is quite as clearly represented to the eye in their proper orthography, as it is in other methods of notation by respelling the words.

The following Table exhibits the manner in which the pronunciation of a number of words is represented by Sheridan, Walker, Jones, and Jameson, together with the mode adopted in this work. These several orthoepists have each his own peculiar system of notation; but as their different methods of marking the letters cannot be here exhibited without much inconvenience, and without causing great confusion to the reader, their respective modes with regard to the respelling of the words, are presented; and instead of their marks on the vowels, those employed in this work are sub

In relation to all the words here exhibited, these orthoepists agree with respect to two of the most important points in the pronunciation of words namely, the syllable on which the accent is to be placed, and the quantity of the vowel in the accented syllable. Though with regard to the mode of representing the pronunciation of most of the above words, there is consid erable diversity, yet it is doubtless true that the pronunciation intended to be expressed differs, in reality, much less than it would seem to do; and that, in numerous instances, these orthoepists agreed much better in their practice, than in their mode of indicating it.

There is an obvious difference in the quantity and stress of voice with which the last syllables of the words deliberate, intimate, and moderate, are pronounced, when verbs and when adjectives. All the above orthoepists mark the a long in the last syllable of all these words when used as verbs; Jameson also marks it long in all of them when adjectives; Walker shortens the a in the adjectives intimate and moderate; and Sheridan and Jones change the a in all the words when adjectives into short e. But there seems to be no advantage in changing the letter in such cases. It is but slightly pronounced, and has not the distinct sound of either short e or short or long a; and with respect to most of the instances in which the vowels in this Dictionary have a dot placed under them, they are so slightly pronounced, that to mark them with a distinct sound, either long or short, would tend rather to mislead, than to assist in pronouncing them. If the syllables on which the primary and secondary accents fall, are correctly pronounced, the com paratively indistinct syllables will naturally be pronounced right.

There are many instances with respect to which it is a matter of indiffer

the vowel; as for example, the last syllable of the words consonant, diffident, feebleness, and obvious, might, with about equal propriety, have the vowels marked with a short or an indistinct sound. There may be a want of consistency in marking such syllables in this volume; but it is deemed of little importance, as it will not perceptibly affect the pronunciation.

The pronunciation of tu when following the accent, is variously represented by different orthoepists; and the pronunciation of the words feature, nature, and natural, is represented in the preceding table with considerable pparent difference; yet these several orthoepists, probably, differed little m their own manner of pronouncing them. Perhaps, however, the mode of representation adopted by Jameson is to be preferred, as least tending to mislead, or least liable to abuse; while it keeps sufficiently clear of a vulgar pronunciation, which we often hear, as though the words were spelled feter, nater, nateral. The letter u, when unaccented, is, in various words, pronounced by many with the slight sound of oo, as in value, valuable, gradual, educate; and in the last word, educate, some give it the sound of e, as if written edecate; but the proper sound of this letter, in these words, cannot, perhaps, be better represented than by yu, which, slightly sounded, is equivalent to the unaccented long u.

The vowel a, when marked thus (å), has an intermediate sound between the proper short a, as in fat, fan, and the Italian a, as in far, father. This peculiar sound of a is discriminated by Fulton and Knight; but in most instances in which a has this mark, in this Dictionary, Walker and Jameson give it the short sound of a, while Perry, Jones, and Nares give it the Italian sound; but to pronounce the words fast, last, glass, grass, dance, &c. with the proper sound of short a, as in hat, has the appearance of affectation; and to pronounce them with the full Italian sound of a, as in part, father, seems to border on vulgarity.

The usual sound of long a when followed by r, indicated by this mark (á), is discriminated by Perry, but not by the other English orthoepists, though they doubtless, as well as all others who speak the language with propriety, made use of it in practice. We hear the proper long sound in the words fate, lane, payer, player, slayer, betrayer, preyer; but a palpably different sound in the words bare, pair, share, stair, prayer. The neglect of making a discrimination of these different sounds in marking this vowel, has led some persons into a vicious and affected pronunciation.

The sounds of a and o, when followed by r final, or by r succeeded by any other consonant, as in the words far, carter, nor, border, have been distinguished by the best orthoepists from the proper short sounds of these letters. Sheridan, however, makes no distinction with regard to the letter a; and Perry and Jameson make none in their notation with regard to the letter o,

the vowels. The sounds of the other vowels are influenced in a similar manner by being followed by r final, or r succeeded by another consonant. This is mentioned by Jameson with respect to the letter i; but no one of these orthoepists has applied the principle to the other vowels, or has made the discrimination in his notation of any of them except a and o. But those who can perceive a difference between the sounds of a and o in the words far, cart, nor, border, and the proper short sounds of these letters in fat, carry, not, borrow, will not find it difficult to perceive an analogous difference between the sounds of e in learn, verse, mercy, and in men, very, merry; of i in fir, bird, and in pin, mirror; of u in hurdle, turn, and in tun, hurry; of y in myrtle, and in lyric. These vowels, with this mark (ë, ï, ü, ÿ), have all nearly or quite the same sound, as will be perceived in the words her, sir, fur, myrrh, herd, bird, surd; but their proper short sounds are widely different, when followed by r, as well as by other consonants, as in merry, mirror, Murray. When marked with two dots, these vowels are to be pronounced with as short a sound as they readily or naturally receive in their respective situations; but they cannot, thus situated, be pronounced with their proper short sound without effort or affectation.

There is a class of words in which the letter o is generally marked in this volume, as well as in other pronouncing dictionaries, with its short sound, but in which its sound is usually somewhat protracted, and bordering on the sound of o in nor, or of broad a, as in hall. The following words may be considered as of this class; namely, begone, gone, aloft, loft, soft, oft, often, scoff, off, offspring, cost, frost, lost, betroth, broth, cloth, moth, wroth, cross, dross, loss, moss, cough, trough, long, prong, song, strong, thong, throng, wrong. A few of these are marked by Sheridan and Nares with the sound of broad a; but though they are all usually pronounced with a sound somewhat different from the proper short o, yet to mark them with the full sound of broad a, would countenance too drawling a manner.

Walker observes of the sound of the letter o, that, "like a, it has a tendency to lengthen, when followed by a liquid and another consonant, or by s, ss, or s and a mute; but this length of o, in this situation, seems every day growing more and more vulgar; and as it would be gross, to a degree, to sound the a in castle, mask, plant, like the a in palm, psalm, &c., so it would be equally exceptionable to pronounce the o in moss, dross, frost, as if written mawse, drawse, frawst." This pronunciation, however, appears to be still countenanced in London; for Mr. Cobbin, in his “Grammatical and Pronouncing Spelling-Book," the first edition of which was published in 1829, though he states that "in pronunciation he has been chiefly guided by Walker," gives, notwithstanding, the sound of aw to several words of this class, directing begone, cross, froth, and soft, to be pronounced begawn,