A New English Dictionary

A New English Dictionary: or, a complete collection of the most proper and significant words, commonly used in the language was an English dictionary compiled by philologist John Kersey and first published in London in 1702.^[1]

This article is about a dictionary first published in 1702. For an unusually large dictionary published in the late 19th century, see Oxford English Dictionary. For an anonymous dictionary published in 1691, see Gazophylacium Anglicanum.

Differences from previous dictionaries

Unlike previous dictionaries, which had focused on documenting difficult words, A New English Dictionary was one of the first to focus on words in common usage.^[1] It was also the first to be written by a professional lexicographer.^{[citation needed]}

Kersey's subsequent works

Kersey later continued his lexicographic career by enlarging Edward Phillips' The New World of English Words in 1706 and editing the Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum in 1708.

Similarly-titled work

The original title of the Oxford English Dictionary was A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, and it was sometimes given the abbreviation NED, for New English Dictionary.