George William Lemon
The Reverend George William Lemon (1726 – 4 October 1797) was the author of an early etymological dictionary of the English language, published in 1783.
Lemon graduated from
Lemon married Elizabeth Young (1735 – 25 September 1804) on 31 May 1760. Both are buried in East Walton.
English Etymology (1783)
Lemon considered the English language as founded on six older idioms:[3]
- "The Hebrew, or Phoenician" (Semitic)
- "The Greek"
- "The Latin, or Italian" (Romance)
- "The Celtic, or French"
- "The Saxon, Teutonic, or German" (West Germanic)
- "The Icelandic, and other Northern dialects" (North Germanic)
The entries consequently focus on English words of Latin or Greek derivation. Twenty years before the discovery of
The author, perched on his etymological dunghill, claps his wings, and crows in defiance of all who have scraped the dunghill before him. He hath found jewels which escaped their superficial search; and, like a cock of wisdom, knows how to use them when he hath found them; — and is disposed to call us fools for not comprehending their value.
Works
- Two Tracts, London, 1773
- (a) ‘Additional Observations on the Greek Accents, by the late Edward Spelman, esq.,’ (ed. Lemon)
- (b) ‘The Voyage of Æneas from Troy to Italy, in part intended to “lay before the readers specimens of a much larger attempt, viz: an intire new translation of the works of Virgil.”’
- Græcæ Grammaticæ Rudimenta, 1774
- English Etymology Or, A Derivative Dictionary Of The English Language: In Two Alphabets. Tracing the Etymology of those Words that are derived (1.) from the Greek and Latin Languages; (2.) from the Saxon and Northern Tongues. The Whole Compiled From , And Other Etymologists, 1783.
- The History of the Civil War between York and Lancaster, comprehending the lives of Edward IV and his brother Richard III. Lynn, W. Whittingham, 1792
References
- ^ "Lemon, George William (LMN743GW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Tancock, Osborne William (1893). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 33. pp. 29–30.
- ^ Lemon, English Etymology, preface, p. ix
- Danby P. Fry (1859) 'On Some English Dictionaries: Alfred Augustus Fry', Transactions of the Philological Society 6 (1), 257–272.
- Tancock, Osborne William (1893). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 33. pp. 29–30.
- Henry B. Wheatley (1865) XV.-'Chronological Notices of the Dictionaries of the English Language', Transactions of the Philological Society 10 (1), 218–293.
External links
- English Etymology (1783) at the Internet Archive.
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