What can webster s dictionary reveal about history as well as meaning?
The bell has sounded; school is in. It’s time to haul out the text books. As a parent, I try to stress the importance of one of the most useful books in the school system: the dictionary. Many dismiss this book, believing it simply holds definitions. Don’t be deceived; this book is an amazing piece of writing. But what place do dictionaries have in genealogy? Besides the specialist dictionaries regarding occupations, medical and legal terms and language translation, a good dictionary will reveal the meanings and history behind odd and obscure words Dictionaries can shed light on documents and record languages that use uncommon words, words no longer in use, or words which changed meanings over the centuries. For example, according to The New Lexicon Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language (1988), a quaestor (quester) in Roman history was “a state official, originally a prosecutor, or judge in certain criminal cases, later a treasurer, paymaster etc.” More specific inf
