World Book Dictionary
Encyclopedia
The World Book Dictionary is a two volume English dictionary published as a supplement to the World Book Encyclopedia
. It was originally published in 1963 under the editorship of Clarence Barnhart
, who wrote definitions for the Thorndike-Barnhart graded dictionary series for children, based on the educational works of Edward Thorndike
whom Clarence Barnhart had known and worked with decades before. In some editions it was called the World Book Encyclopedia Dictionary.
Like the encyclopedia, it is designed to be user friendly to young people, yet comprehensive enough to be useful to adults. The definitions are designed with consideration for the age at which a person usually encounters the word. Quotations or sample sentences are offered with many words. Most proper names are excluded, leaving their treatment to the encyclopedia.
The word list is based on a formula for calculating frequency of use. Originally covering about 180,000 words, it has expanded to nearly a quarter million, making it considerably larger than most dictionaries, though not of "unabridged" scope. Its vocabulary has largely been drawn from the Century Dictionary
, the Oxford English Dictionary
, and Barnhart's own extensive quotation file begun in the 1940s.
From 1963 The World Book Dictionary was updated annually and received a major revision in 1976. With the decline of traditional lexicography and the death of Clarence Barnhart in 1993, the work appears to have fallen almost into obscurity having been overshadowed by the World Book Encyclopedia which also includes the dictionaries as part of the set. As a standalone work, the World Book Dictionary has faded from use and public recognition.
During the 1960s the work was used as the basis of the Thorndike Barnhart range of school dictionaries published by Scott Foresman Publishing in Chicago, USA. These children's dictionaries, were divided into 3 levels: Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced and were revised and republished, every 3 years or so until 1997 when Scott Foresman was bought out by Pearson Education
. These 3 dictionaries were the major reference materials for school children in American schools throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. When Pearson Education gained Scott Foresman these dictionaries ceased to be updated and have not been updated or modernized since 1997.
World Book Encyclopedia
The World Book Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia published in the United States. It is self-described as "the number-one selling print encyclopedia in the world." The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, and...
. It was originally published in 1963 under the editorship of Clarence Barnhart
Clarence Barnhart
Clarence Lewis Barnhart was an American lexicographer best known for writing the Thorndike-Barnhart series of graded dictionaries, which were based on word lists developed by psychological theorist Edward Thorndike....
, who wrote definitions for the Thorndike-Barnhart graded dictionary series for children, based on the educational works of Edward Thorndike
Edward Thorndike
Edward Lee "Ted" Thorndike was an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on animal behavior and the learning process led to the theory of connectionism and helped lay the scientific foundation for modern educational psychology...
whom Clarence Barnhart had known and worked with decades before. In some editions it was called the World Book Encyclopedia Dictionary.
Like the encyclopedia, it is designed to be user friendly to young people, yet comprehensive enough to be useful to adults. The definitions are designed with consideration for the age at which a person usually encounters the word. Quotations or sample sentences are offered with many words. Most proper names are excluded, leaving their treatment to the encyclopedia.
The word list is based on a formula for calculating frequency of use. Originally covering about 180,000 words, it has expanded to nearly a quarter million, making it considerably larger than most dictionaries, though not of "unabridged" scope. Its vocabulary has largely been drawn from the Century Dictionary
Century Dictionary
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia was one of the largest encyclopedic dictionaries of the English language. The first edition was published from 1889 to 1891 by The Century Company of New York, in six, eight, or ten volume versions in 7,046 pages with some 10,000 wood-engraved illustrations...
, the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, and Barnhart's own extensive quotation file begun in the 1940s.
From 1963 The World Book Dictionary was updated annually and received a major revision in 1976. With the decline of traditional lexicography and the death of Clarence Barnhart in 1993, the work appears to have fallen almost into obscurity having been overshadowed by the World Book Encyclopedia which also includes the dictionaries as part of the set. As a standalone work, the World Book Dictionary has faded from use and public recognition.
During the 1960s the work was used as the basis of the Thorndike Barnhart range of school dictionaries published by Scott Foresman Publishing in Chicago, USA. These children's dictionaries, were divided into 3 levels: Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced and were revised and republished, every 3 years or so until 1997 when Scott Foresman was bought out by Pearson Education
Pearson Education
Pearson Education is an international educational publishing and technology company providing textbooks and other educational material, such as multimedia learning tools...
. These 3 dictionaries were the major reference materials for school children in American schools throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. When Pearson Education gained Scott Foresman these dictionaries ceased to be updated and have not been updated or modernized since 1997.