AN - ANGLO-SAXON DICTIONARY - Based on the Manuscript Collections of the Late Joseph Bosworth, D.D., F.R.S.

Sep 28, 2026

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Preface to “An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary” describing how the editor and additional scholars expanded and revised later parts beyond the earlier manuscript material. The text explains why new information became necessary, how alterations were made to the editorial plan, and how cataloguing difficulties arise from variant word forms across centuries and regions in Old English. It also outlines editorial practices for vowel markings, acknowledges scholarly assistance, and discusses broader challenges in compiling Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, including technical and poetical terms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time37 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Additions and need for revision

Changes to the editorial plan and word forms

Vowel marking conventions and editorial notes

Acknowledgements and concluding remarks

AN ANGLO-SAXON DICTIONARY # BASED ON THE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS OF THE LATE JOSEPH BOSWORTH,D.D,F.R.S.' RAWLINSONIAN PROFESSOR OF ANGLO-SAXONIN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. EDITED AND ENLARGED BY T.NORTHCOTE TOLLER,M.A. LATE FELLOW OF CHRIST's COLLEGE,CAMBRIDGE;AND SMITH PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH IN THE OWENS COLLEGE,MANCHESTER。 OXFORD UNIVERSITY,PRESS Oxford University Press,Amen House,London E.C.4GLASGOw NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE WELLINGTONBOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS KARACHI CAPE TOWN IBADANGeofrey Cumberlege,Publisher to the University Re+erencePE₇9C.2.BT FIRST EDITION 1898 REPRINTED LITHOGRAPHICALLY IN GREAT BRITAINFROM SHEETS OF THE FIRST EDITIONBY LOWE&BRYDONE,PRINTERS,LONDONI929,I954 PREFACE. WITH the issue of the last part of this work comes the necessity for some additions to thePreliminary Notice that accompanied Parts I and II.In that Notice it was mentioned thatDr.Bosworth's MS.for so much of the Dictionary as was contained in Part II was incomplete,and a similar remark applies with more force to the succeeding parts:little,indeed,wasadded in the MS.to what was already contained in the previous edition.If with correspondingparts of this previous edition the later part of the present one be compared,it will be seenthat much had to be done in order to get together the additional material that finds its placein the new work.As the editor could not devote his time exclusively to the Dictionary,thelength of the interval between the date of appearance of Part II and that of Part IV mayi seem not inexcusably great.It has,however,been so great that in some respects alterationshave occurred in matters with which the Dictionary is concerned.Fresh material has beenbrought to light,or old material has been brought forth in more accessible form;the views on9many points connected with the language that are now held,are not those of fifteen years ago,9 and there will be certainly some points in work done fifteen years ago that now will needrevision. There will also be other points that need revision,but which cannot plead thisexcuse:mistakes and omissions,to some extent,are almost inevitable.Revision requiredunder one or other head will be attempted in a supplement,which will be prepared as soonas possible. In the course of the work some alterations have been made in the plan adopted byDr.Bosworth.One of the dificulties connected with the cataloguing of English wordspreserved in works written before IIoo is due to the variety of forms which a word may takeaccording to the time at which,or the locality in which,the MS.where it occurs was written.The Old-English specimens are scattered over centuries,and belong to different parts ofEngland;naturally the form of a word is not always the same in the earlier and in the laterspecimen of the same locality,or in the contemporary specimens of different localities.Inthe earlier part of the Dictionary the different forms of a word are given separately,in thelater part they are collected under a single form;e.g.in the former case words having themutation of ed may appear under each of the forms which the varieties of that mutation(é,i,,页)admit of,in the latter one form alone (2)is given.Slight alterations,too,will be foundnoted in the list of references. With regard to the marks used to distinguish difference in the vowels it may be noticedthat cá,cb are employed inall cases where the short ea,eo are not meant,e.g scecp,Goth①skóp,has the same symbols as lebf,Goth.liubs,etc. My thanks are due to Professor Skeat for the readiness which he has always shown toanswer an appeal for help in a dificulty;to Professor Kluge and to Professor Heyne forvery helpful criticism of the earlier parts of the Dictionary.To the former I am indebted notonly for pointing out omissions,but for the assistance he has given in remedying them.Hevery.kindly sent me a copy of the glosses cited under the abbreviation Germ.,and furthergave the Delegates of the University Press the opportunity,wh

FAQs

Why are additions and revisions needed in the later parts of the dictionary?

The preface explains that the earlier preliminary notice noted incomplete manuscript coverage, and that later manuscripts still required substantial additional work. Over time, new material emerged and earlier views on language points changed, making revision necessary.

How does the dictionary plan differ in presenting earlier vs. later specimens?

In the earlier part, different forms of the same word are listed separately; in later parts, forms are collected under a single form. This addresses the variety of written word forms across time and localities.

What does the preface say about compiling Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, especially poetical and technical terms?

It highlights that remaining texts vary in subject matter, requiring specialists for technical terms such as those in law. For the poetical vocabulary, the solution of difficulties is not always straightforward, and glosses to Latin words may serve as key authority for both English and Latin meanings.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Aran