General explanations (continued)

part 1 of 5

Main words

Every main word is treated, once for all, under its modern current or most usual spelling; or, if obsolete, under the most typical of its latest spellings; the form or spelling thus chosen being considered the main form of the word.

Occasionally a form or spelling of an obsolete word has been assumed, which is not actually found in the quotations adduced, but is in accordance with the usual analogies of the language, as seen in kindred words. Thus annoyously is given as the main form, on the analogy of annoy, annoyous, although only anoyously has actually been found.

Other important forms of each word, current or obsolete, are entered in their alphabetical order, as subordinate words, and are there concisely referred to the main form under which they are treated.

When a word which is historically one has different grammatical relations, it is treated as one word only, and the different relations are indicated by the division of the article into sections (marked A, B, C). This refers especially to substantives used also attributively (or adjectivally), as in 'an ounce of gold, a gold watch, gold-coloured scales'; to adjectives used substantively or pronominally, as in 'the catholic church, a good catholic; that book, that is mine, the words that he spoke'; to adjectives used adverbially, as in 'the according voice of national wisdom', he acted according to orders'; to adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions, originally the same word, as ABOUT, AFTER, SINCE, AS; and of course a fortiori to verbs used transitively and intransitively, as 'to abide battle, to abide at home', which, in some dictionaries, are reckoned as two distinct words.

In this Dictionary, transitive and intransitive seldom appear even as leading divisions of a verb, but, in accordance with the actual history of the word, in most cases only as varying and often temporary constructions, subordinate to the different senses, and liable to pass one into the other in the development of the language. Thus a verb at one time intransitive finally takes a simple object, through the phonetic decay of a dative or genitive ending, or the elision of a preposition, and is accounted transitive, without any change either in form or meaning (e.g. ANSWER); and a verb used transitively, likewise without change of meaning and form, at length becomes intransitive, through the regular modern English suppression of the reflexive pronoun (e.g. Ezek. 20:22 I withdrew mine hand; Mark 3:7 Jesus withdrew himself to the sea; Revised Version, Jesus withdrew to the sea). The history of ANSWER or WITHDRAW would be misrepresented by splitting them each into two words, or even by classifying their senses in a manner which would conceal these historical relations.

But verbs uniform their stems with substantives or adjectives, as LAND, to LAND, DRY, to DRY, ABSTRACT, to ABSTRACT, are, of course, distinct words; as are adjectives and adverbs which, through 'levelling' of terminations, have become identical in form, though originally distinct, as ALIKE a., ALIKE adv.; and substantives and adjectives which have always been identical in form, but were of separate introduction into the language, and have separate histories, as ANIMAL sb., ANIMAL a. Where a word originally one has been, in the course of its history, split into two, whether with distinction of sense, as ALSO, AS, or merely as synonyms, as ANT, EMMET; APPRENTICE, PRENTICE, both modern forms are treated as separate words, and there is a reference from one article to the other. Where two original words of identical or similar form have coalesced into one, the modern word is treated as one or two, according to practical utility. When they are treated as two words, these come, of course, immediately together: see ALLAY, ALLOW, AMICE.

part 1 of 5