George William Lemon
Encyclopedia
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 at Queens College, Cambridge
in 1748. He was Rector of Geytonthorpe, Vicar of East Walton
, Norfolk
from 1755, and master of Norwich
free grammar school from 1769 to 1778.
Lemon considered the English language as founded on six older idioms:
The entries consequently focus on English words of Latin or Greek derivation. Twenty years before the discovery of Grimm's law
, Lemon could not be expected to give sound etymologies of Germanic words, and promptly derived acorn from Greek akros, or addle from Greek athlos. Yet Lemon's dictionary is of historical interest as a pioneer work of philology
on the eve of the discoveries of William Jones
, Friedrich Schlegel and Rasmus Rask that mark the beginning of modern linguistics
.
Ralph Griffiths
' Monthly Review
in 1785 (vol. 71http://books.google.ch/books?id=XwJYdFQRphwC&printsec=titlepage&dq=Geytonthorpe&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0, 171-177) reviewed Lemon's dictionary, somewhat ironically, as an extraordinary and delectable work:
Etymological dictionary
An etymological dictionary discusses the etymology of the words listed. Often, large dictionaries, such as the OED and Webster's, will contain some etymological information, without aspiring to focus on etymology....
of the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, published in 1783.
Lemon graduated at Queens College, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in 1748. He was Rector of Geytonthorpe, Vicar of East Walton
East Walton
East Walton is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 90 in 40 households as of the 2001 census.For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
from 1755, and master of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
free grammar school from 1769 to 1778.
Lemon considered the English language as founded on six older idioms:
-
- "The HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, or Phoenician" (SemiticSemitic languagesThe Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
) - "The GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
" - "The LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, or Italian" (RomanceRomance languagesThe Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
) - "The CelticCeltic languagesThe Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
, or French" - "The Saxon, Teutonic, or German" (West Germanic)
- "The Icelandic, and other Northern dialects" (North Germanic)
- "The Hebrew
The entries consequently focus on English words of Latin or Greek derivation. Twenty years before the discovery of Grimm's law
Grimm's law
Grimm's law , named for Jacob Grimm, is a set of statements describing the inherited Proto-Indo-European stops as they developed in Proto-Germanic in the 1st millennium BC...
, Lemon could not be expected to give sound etymologies of Germanic words, and promptly derived acorn from Greek akros, or addle from Greek athlos. Yet Lemon's dictionary is of historical interest as a pioneer work of philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
on the eve of the discoveries of William Jones
William Jones (philologist)
Sir William Jones was an English philologist and scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages...
, Friedrich Schlegel and Rasmus Rask that mark the beginning of modern linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
.
Ralph Griffiths
Ralph Griffiths
Ralph Griffiths was a journal editor and publisher of Welsh extraction...
' Monthly Review
Monthly Review (London)
The Monthly Review was an English periodical founded by Ralph Griffiths, a Nonconformist bookseller. The first periodical in England to offer reviews, it featured the novelist and poet Oliver Goldsmith as an early contributor. William Kenrick, the "superlative scoundrel", was editor from 1759 to...
in 1785 (vol. 71http://books.google.ch/books?id=XwJYdFQRphwC&printsec=titlepage&dq=Geytonthorpe&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0, 171-177) reviewed Lemon's dictionary, somewhat ironically, as an extraordinary and delectable work:
Works
- 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 Vossius, Meric CasaubonMéric CasaubonMéric Casaubon , son of Isaac Casaubon, was a French-English classical scholar...
, SpelmanHenry SpelmanSir Henry Spelman was an English antiquary, noted for his detailed collections of medieval records, in particular of church councils.-Life:...
, SomnerWilliam SomnerWilliam Somner was an English antiquarian scholar, the author of the first dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon language.-Life:He was baptised in the church of St. Margaret, Canterbury, on 5 November 1598, but according to a statement of his widow and surviving relatives, the date of his birth was 30...
, MinshewJohn MinsheuJohn Minsheu was an English linguist and lexicographer. He was born and died in London. Little is known about his life. He published some of the earliest dictionaries and grammars of the Spanish language for speakers of English. His major work was the Ductor in linguas , an eleven-language...
, JuniusJuniusJunius was the pseudonym of a writer who contributed a series of letters to the Public Advertiser, from 21 January 1769 to 21 January 1772. The signature had been already used, apparently by him, in a letter of 21 November 1768...
, SkinnerStephen SkinnerStephen Skinner was a Lincoln physician, lexicographer and etymologist.He graduated at Oxford University in 1646, and went to lived on the continent, graduating at the University of Heidelberg in 1654....
, Verstegan, RayJohn RayJohn Ray was an English naturalist, sometimes referred to as the father of English natural history. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after "having ascertained that such had been the practice of his family before him".He published important works on botany,...
, NugentThomas NugentThomas Nugent may refer to:*Thomas Nugent *Tom Nugent , American football coach*Thomas Nugent, 6th Earl of Westmeath , Irish peer and freemason*Tom Nugent...
, UptonUptonUpton is the name of a number of people and places. It may refer to:-Places:In Canada*Upton, QuebecIn England*Upton, Berkshire*Upton, Buckinghamshire*Upton, Cambridgeshire*Upton, Cornwall*Upton, Cumbria*Upton, Dorset*Upton, Hampshire...
, ClelandJohn ClelandJohn Cleland was an English novelist most famous and infamous as the author of Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure....
, And Other Etymologists, 1783. http://books.google.com/books?id=RHwCAAAAQAAJ&pg=PT256