Unabridged Commentary

By Allan Metcalf.
unabridged noun A big dictionary.
unabridged adjective (Of a dictionary) big.
We’re so used to these definitions—most recently applied to the online Merriam-Webster Unabridged—that we don’t notice how odd it is to use “unabridged” for a dictionary. For that distinctive use, we can thank George and Charles Merriam. What other word might you use to indicate that a dictionary is big? Well, you could try Universal, as in Nathaniel Bailey’s 1721 Universal Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Noah Webster tried Compendious for his 1806 Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. But most of the big dictionaries, including Samuel Johnson’s 1755 A Dictionary of the English Language and Webster’s 1828 An American Dictionary of the English Language, didn’t even try to mention size in their titles. Read more...