Webster's Giant Illustrated Approved Dictionary [antikvár]

PREFACE This boolí has been compiled for those who need a simple, accurate, modern dictionary as an aid in acquiring a better working knowledge of the English language. The vocabulary has been carefully selected to include cliiefly those words which are in common use today among those who write and speak the most accurate and picturesque English; the definitions are short, clear and pointed; make-up and style have been planned for readability and quick reference. This dictionary is completely modern, and in keeping mth its modernity, everything superfluous has been discarded, and only that which is essential to its primary purpose has been retained. The exigencies of the present demand the admission of the useful and the necessary, and the elimination of the useless and imnecessary. Obsolete and archaic words have been kept to a minimum; obscure mean-mgs of common words, the significance of which has been lost in history, have been ignored; confusing technical and scientific terms have not been included. While these features are interesting and essential to speciahzed dictionaries, the editors considered that their inclusion here would defeat the original purpose of this book, which is intended for easy reference. Dead words, useless words, obsolete words, have given way to live, dynamic, modern words, indispensable to an understanding of today's fast-changing world. Because new words were added until the text went to press, many terms will be found that appear in no other dictionary. The rapid changes in world affairs,. political and international relations, the progress of scientific investigations, the inventions which have revolutionized our daily mode of life—all of these have contributed their quota of new words to the language, and have made their inclusion imperative in a work which aims to interpret our times to the man in the street. A war and changing map of Europe bring us Anschluss, BUzlkrieg and blackout. Life-giving drugs are developed, and add to our medical nomenclature sulfanilamide and sulfapyridine; new gland therapy adds theehl and theelin, progesterone and testosterone; new methods of treatment give us allergen to cure those who are allergic. All these changes have been faithfully recorded by our editors, who define new discoveries almost as quickly as they come from the test tubes of the scientist. Not all new words, however, come out of the laboratory. Many are coined by the man in the street, by workers in mill and factory, by school children, by men and women at work and play, to describe their daily activities. These picturesque words come into our vocabulary as slang, and are included as such in this dictionary. In time custom may sanction their use and they may become a component part of the Enghsh language. Their inclusion commends itself for several reasons—they are terse, vivid, expressive, and above all, they give vigor and life to the-English language. That is why the reader will be able to find definitions for swing, doghouse, lam, jitterbug, and many other slang words included in this work. All definitions have been written in such simple style that they can be understood at a glance: there is no need for time-wasting cross-reference, nor for the looking up of three words in order to understand one. A further help is the profusion of illustrations, since a picture takes the place of many words, and explains through the eye in an instant many things that cannot be explained in words. Conciseness and modernity, however, have not taken the place of the,old-fashioned dictionary virtues—those of accuracy and authority. This volume has been compiled and edited by men and women expert in the field of dictionary-making, and can be consulted with confidence by students, writers, professionals, or anyone else who wishes to find the exact meaning of a doubtful word, and must know that the definition he finds can be accepted as authoritative. The editors have had the opportunity of hearing English spoken in all parts of the country, and by all types of people. They have given much time and care to the revision of the book, and while no dictionary can be perfect, they have exerted every effort to make this volume as complete and accurate as is humanly possible. —THE PUBLISHERS