A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 to 1580

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

10625

Title

A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 to 1580

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A scholarly yet accessible reference for Middle English (1150–1580), this dictionary bridges the gap between advanced academic works and student needs. By compressing extensive glossarial data into a single volume, it offers etymologies, variant spellings, and concise definitions, making the study of Chaucer and Piers Plowman more approachable for learners.

Summary up to 500 words

Compiled by the Reverend A. L. Mayhew of Wadham College, Oxford, and the Reverend Walter W. Skeat, Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge, *A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 to 1580* serves as a practical, accessible tool for students of Middle English literature. Published by the Clarendon Press in 1888, the volume addresses a specific gap in scholarly resources: while Dr. Stratmann's exhaustive dictionary covered the entire alphabet, it relied heavily on expensive Early English Text Society editions and prioritized the oldest available forms of words. In contrast, Mayhew and Skeat selected 'Main Words' that represent the typical spellings of the Chaucerian and *Piers Plowman* periods, making the text more relevant to literary analysis of the era. The dictionary is designed to be both an alphabetical guide and an etymological resource. It provides modern English definitions, etymological roots, and numerous citations drawn primarily from a curated set of inexpensive Clarendon Press handbooks containing *Specimens of English*. This approach allows students to trace word histories and find specific forms without needing a complete collection of costly primary editions. The authors paid special attention to the French element in the vocabulary, a significant component of Middle English often overlooked by Stratmann. A unique feature of the work is its handling of phonological variations. The authors note that symbols like 'i' and 'y' were frequently interchanged during the period, meaning readers must look for words spelled with either symbol. The dictionary includes cross-references to the glossaries of the Clarendon Press series, enabling users to expand brief entries into full articles by consulting the original texts. For instance, a short entry for 'Bi-heste' (promise) can be expanded into a comprehensive list of fifteen examples with full context by referring to the cited indexes. The preface clarifies the division of labor: while the original plan was Skeat's, Mayhew compiled and wrote the majority of the work, with Skeat contributing the initial model and revising the glossaries. The result is a compressed yet information-rich volume that bridges the gap between the incomplete Mätzner dictionary and the expensive Stratmann work, offering a reliable guide for tracing the history of words still in use today.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Dictionaries
• English Language