An A to Z of Noah Webster's Finest Forgotten Words
Despite all of his efforts, Webster's dictionary sold just 2,500 copies on its publication and he was compelled to mortgage his home in New Haven to fund a second edition in 1840. Three years later, having never quite gained the recognition his work deserved in his lifetime, he died at the age of 84. Today however, as both a literary and scholarly achievement Webster's 1828 dictionary is widely regarded as both the first truly comprehensive dictionary of American English, and as one of the most important dictionaries in the history of our language. So to mark World Dictionary Day - and to celebrate what would be Webster's 256th birthday - here are 26 of some of the most curious, most surprising and most obscure words from Webster's Dictionary in one handy A to Z. AFTER-WISE (adj.)
Defined by Webster as "wise afterwards or too late" -- or in other words, the perfect term for describing that feeling of knowing exactly what you should have said (or done) after the opportunity to say it (or do it) has passed you by. Other useful after- words on Webster's list were after-game (a subsequent scheme or plan), after-supper (the time between supper and going to bed), and after-tossing (the rolling of the sea after a storm has passed). BABBLEMENT (n.)
"Senseless prattle" or "unmeaning words," according to Webster. To twattle, incidentally, is to gossip or chatter. CYCOPEDE Cycopede is all but unique to Webster, who defined it as both a variation of cyclopedia (as in encyclopedia), and as a term for the entire "circle of human knowledge." DAGGLE-TAIL (adj.)
As a verb, to daggle is "to befoul" or "dirty", or more specifically, "to trail in mud or wet grass". The adjective daggle-tail ultimately describes someone "having the lower ends of garments defiled with mud." EAR-ERECTING (adj.)
Another of Webster's clever compound adjectives, this time describing any sound that "sets up the ears".
An A to Z of Noah Webster's Finest Forgotten Words
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