Dialectics was the old name of logic, or the art of reasoning, but used in Kant's philosophy to mean the logic of appearance, or that logic which treats of inevitable tendencies towards error and illusion in the very nature of reason. Research Dialectics
A dictionary (from the Latin dictio, a saying, expression, word), is a book containing the words, or subjects, which it treats, arranged in alphabetical order. It may be either a vocabulary, or collection of the words in a language, with their definitions; or a special work on one or more branches of science or art prepared on the principle of alphabetical arrangement, such as dictionaries of biography, law, music, medicine, etc.
Amongst dictionaries of the English language, the earliest seem to have been those of Bullokar (1616) and Cockeram (1623). That of Dr Johnson published in 1755 made an epoch in this department of literature. Previous to this the chief English dictionary was that of Bailey, a useful work in its way. An enlarged edition of Johnson's dictionary, by the Rev. H. J. Todd, appeared in 1818; and this, again enlarged and modified, was issued under the editorship of Dr. R. G. Latham (1864-72).
The best-known American dictionary of the English language is that by Noah Webster, published in 1828, and since entirely recast. Richardson's dictionary, published in 1836-37, was valuable chiefly for its quotations. Ogilvie's Imperial English Dictionary, based on Webster, and first published in 1847-50, has been published in a remodelled and greatly enlarged form (in 4volumes 1881-82 and subsequently). It is one of the encyclopaedic dictionaries. Cassell's Encyclopaedic Dictionary was another extensive work published in 1879-88. Prior to the Oxord English Dictionary, the largest completed English dictionary was the Century Dictionary published in New York, 1889-91, in 6 volumes. The Standard Dictionary was another American work.
The Oxford English Dictionary was started under the editorship of James Murray, after agreement bty members of the Lodon Philological Societt in 1857 that existing dictionaries were incomplete and inaccurate. The first part of the 'A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles' as the Oxford Englisg Dictionary was originally called, was published by the Clarendon Press (later known as the Oxford University Press) in 1884, but it was not until 1928 that the last of ten volumes was published.
Among French dictionaries (for French people) the chief was that of Littre; among German, the dictionary begun by the brothers Grimm. Research Dictionary
Etymology is a term applied to that part of grammar which treats of the various inflections and modifications of words and shows how they are formed from simple roots.
The term, etymology is also applied to that branch of philology which traces the history of words from their origin to their latest form and meaning. Etymology in this latter sense, or the investigation of the origin and growth of words, is amongst the oldest of studies. Plato and other Greek philosophers, the Alexandrian grammarians, the scholiasts, the Roman Varro, and others wrote much on this subject. But their work is made up of conjectures at best ingenious rather than sound, and very often wild and fantastic. It was not until modern times, and particularly since the study of Sanskrit, that etymology has been scientifically studied. Languages then began to be properly classed in groups and families, and words were studied by a comparison of their growth and relationship in different languages. It was recognized that the development of language is not an arbitrary or accidental matter, but proceeds according to general laws. The result was a great advance in etymological knowledge and the formation of a new science of philology. Research Etymology
Grammar, in reference to any language, is the system of rules, principles, and facts which must be known in order to speak and write the language correctly. Comparative grammar treats of the laws, customs, and forms which are shown by comparison to be common to various languages; general or universal grammar, of those laws which, by logical deduction, are demonstrated to be common to all. The divisions of grammar vary with the class and also with the method of treatment. In common English grammars the division is generally fourfold: orthography, which treats of the proper spelling of words, and includes orthoepy, treating of the proper pronunciation; etymology, which treats of their derivations and inflections; syntax, of the laws and forms of construction common to compositions in prose and verse; prosody, of the laws peculiar to verse. Although the systematization of grammar had begun in some sort in Plato's time it was chiefly to the Alexandrian writers that it owed its development. The first Greek grammar for Roman students was that of Dionysius Thrax, in use about 80 BC. Comparative grammar can only be said to have existed from the beginning of the 19th century, when the critical study of Sanskrit established the affinities of the languages of the Indo-European group. The names of Bopp, Grimm, Pott, Schleicher, Milller, etc, are especially associated with its development. Research Grammar
An idyl (from the Greek eidyllion, or a 'little image') is the name originally and still most usually applied to a short and highly finished descriptive poem, especially if it treats of pastoral subjects, though this last circumstance is not an essential character of the idyl. All that is necessary to constitute a poem of this class is that it presents to view a complete picture in small compass. Research Idyl
Prosody is that part of grammar which treats of the quantity of syllables, of accent, and of the laws of versification. Though chiefly restricted to versification, it may also be extended to prose composition. In the Greek and Latin languages every syllable had its determinate length or quantity, and verses were constructed by systems of recurring feet, each foot containing a definite number of syllables, possessing a certain quantity and arrangement. Research Prosody
Trigonometry is the branch of mathematics which treats of the relation of the sides and angles of triangles, with the methods of deducing from certain parts the parts required. Research Trigonometry
Conchology is the science of shells, forming that department of zoology which treats of the nature, formation, and classification of the shells with which the bodies of many mollusca are protected; or the word may be used also to include a knowledge of the animals themselves, in which case it is equivalent to malacology. In systems of conchology shells are usually divided into three orders, Univalves, Bivalves, and Multi-valves, according to the number of pieces of which they are composed. Research Conchology
Heraclitus was a Greek philosopher. He was born at Ephesus and lived about 513 BC. He travelled in different countries, particularly in Africa. On his return to Ephesus he was offered the chief magistracy, but refused it. He is said to have latterly repaired to solitary mountains to live on roots and herbs; but, being attacked by a fatal disease, was obliged to return to the city, where he died soon afterwards, it is said in his sixtieth year.
He left a work on Nature, in which he treats also of religion and politics. Some fragments only of this work remain. He is considered as belonging generally to the Ionic school of philosophers, though he differed from it in important particulars. He considered fire as the first principle of all things, describing it as an ethereal substance, 'self-kindled and self-extinguished,' from which the world is evolved (not made) by a natural operation. It is also a rational principle, and the source of the human soul. Phenomena exist in a constant state of flux, always tending to assume new forms, and finally returning again to their source. Research Heraclitus
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Dialectics
