THE WORKJAN SATURDAY APRIL 21. 1929 PAGE THREE The New English Dictionary.
The Prosperity Tailor CLEANER DYER No. 6, 19th Street Central Avenue PANAMA CITY Telephone 695 FLOWERS The Boy Scout Movement.
Abogado. Attorney at Law The Boy Scout Association, 2FICE: No. 44. sr. which has spread from EngF. BUX NO. 35 PANANA UTRY land to almost every corner of TELEPHONE No. 107 the globe, recently held its anPraction before all the cours of don. Sir Robert Baden Powell, nual council meeting in Lonth Republic ince April 1914 the Chief Scout and founder of this great humanitarian movement, received messages from King George V, and from the Prince of Wales, who himselt always been and still is keenly interested in scouting activities. The King referred to the movement as a triumphant advance towards the promotion of international brotherhood. and the Prince commented upon the fact tha DROP IN AT most English Public Schools aad taken up scouting. Sirius bert Baden Poweit reported that in the course of the las 122 CENTRAL AVE.
year there had been an increase of 61, 076 scouts in the You ill Find Them British Empire alone, making a total of 532, 235; in the forts DYEING, CLEANING PRESSING OF THE HIGHEST ORDER NEED WATCH?
FULLER Moderately Priced. wo countries registered with the international bureau, 1, 711, 643 boys were being trained in the ideals and methods of the movement. He looked orward with pleasure to the Creat Jamboree which will be held in England next year celebrate the coming of age of his wonderful idea. In recognition of the work which the Chief Scout had done 107 the youth of Poland, the PolSeX0800520:00, ish Minister in London confer red a decoration upon him The High Commissioner for India explained the present state of scouting in India, and said that it was not confined to Hindus or Moslems, or to Europeans or Anglo Indians.
It had spread among all clas ses, creeds and castes; and therein lay its immense signilicance in India. It may indeed be said of the movement tha it is not only the most democratic, but probably the most popular one in the world.
SILVER (By Joseph Martin)
An event of outstanding importance to all who speak or use or understand the English language, and to philologists the world over, is the completion of the New English Dic.
tionary, the concluding section of which is just about to be issued by the Oxford University Press. During the past seventy years many of the first scholars in England have been engaged on this colossal piece of work, the first part of which was published in 1884.
The inception of the work was due to the Philological Society, which resolved at a meeting held on the 7th of January, Work Done While You Wait 1858, that a new English Dictionary be prepared under the authority of the Society. The members thereupon set to TRY US AND YOU LL BE SATISFIED work and, although the Society ceaged to take an active Alterations and Repairs at reasonable Prices part in the production when a section was actually ready for Ladies Garments carefully handled the press, they continued their voluntary work of research and compilation and the SoC. REID Propietor ciety continued to be acutely interested in the progress of the Dictionary.
Some idea of the vast amount of effort and energy expended upon the volumes may be gathered from a consideration of 30850 500 OS SEUS a few figures relating to the contents. Although the bulk of the work of compilation has been voluntary, the actual sum spent on publication has totalled 300, 000. The number of words recorded is 414, 825. There are 500, 000 word definitions and 1, 827, 306 illustrative quotations. The treatment of the oldest words covers twelve centuries, and the amount of careful reading involved in tracing the origins and uses of such words has been enormous. The letters yields the most words 57, 428; whilst X, and yield together but 4, 746.
Biost English dictionaries are content to end with the word Zytlum a kind of malt liquor. the New English Dictionary continues beyond that, and ends with the to English ears extraordinary and but little known word Zyxt which is an old form of thou seest. To continue with a few more interesting facts connected with this enormous undertaking, the completed volumes contain 15, 438 pages. 178 miles of type, and about 50 million words. When the decision to compile the da dictionary was first taken, one of the most enthusiastic supporters was Dean Trench, and he himself recruited 76 voluntary workers. Thousands of other students, some of them in foreigir countries, volunteered their services as the years went by, and did invaluable work. One energetic Scotsman had sent. in 165, 000 suggestions by 2883; and a large number of learned and most valued contributions were ceived from a homicidal maniac confined in a home for the criminally insano!
The first Editor of the work was the learned Dr.
Murray, who personally took over responsibility from the Philological Society in 1879, and he continued in the Editorial chair until his death in 1915, by which time he had received a Knighthood in recognition of his services. When he first started work upon what has been described as the greatest lexicographical undertaking the world has ever seen Sir James Murray expected to finish it in twelve SPRAY PILSENER years. But all attempts to estimate the time required were baffled. The word set. for example, surprised the compilers by the work it entailed.
The division of the meanings of the verb set into satisfactory order took one assistant over forty hours, and disclos.
ed 51 senses of the simple verb and 83 senses of phrases like set out. set off. etc.
This one word does in fact occupy more than eighteen pages of the Dictionary and extends to 154 main divisions.
But nobody could have. envisaged in 1858 the propor tions that the dictionary would ultimately assume. Inventions, wars, and discoveries have all contributed an impressive quota of new words. The word appendicitis. for example, had not been invented when the work was started, and the late war has provided us with a minor language of its own.
Hence a supplement to the Dictionary is being prepared, in which will be found words too young to have been placed in the main body of the book itself, and copies of this will be given to holders of the complete dictionary.
Nothing but familiarity with the volumes can really explain the greatness and the excel lence of the Dictionary. Those who can afford it should buy it. Failing that, and it is admittedly an expensive book, the best thing for everybody who values the English language is to ensure that, by some means or other, it is easy of access, in library, club, or place of business. For no one to whont it has ever been a vailable would willingly be without opportunity to consult it.
reIS GOOD DRINK FOR EVERYBODY Moses,