By Definition
The Surprising History of the English Dictionary
23 February 2027 · United States
Keep track
Why it is on our radar
The familiar act of looking up a word opens into a history of cultural authority, changing usage, and the people who decide how dictionaries define them.
About the book
Lexicographer Peter Sokolowski follows the English dictionary from early attempts to explain difficult words to today's digital references. Comparing the work of dictionary makers across centuries, he explores how definitions register changes in culture, authority and ordinary usage while appearing to provide fixed standards.
Keep exploring
More like this
More books to explore through shared genres, themes or series.
Black Forward
Martin connects civil-rights history with the practical work of Black community institutions, arguing for collective action rooted in local networks.
Dead in the Water
Doughty shifts attention from the ship’s legend to the treatment of its victims. Her mortuary perspective offers a distinctive route through a heavily documented event.
Draft Days
Eisen and Weinreb trace how an offseason administrative event became a television spectacle, connecting football history with the machinery of sports media.