Who is Noah Webster? I’m assuming most people know that Noah Webster published the dictionary. But did you know that he was seventy when it was published, it took him 27 years to complete, and sold 2500 copies?
In case you haven’t guessed, today is
National Dictionary Day
To evaluate the etymology of words, Webster learned twenty-six languages, including Old English (Anglo-Saxon), German, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Arabic and Sanskrit. His dictionary contained seventy thousand words, and twelve thousand of them never had appeared in a dictionary before.
He also believed that the English spelling rules were too complex so he introduced American English spellings, “colour” became “color”, “centre” became “center,” and so on. He also added words such as “skunk” and “squash.”
So how can we celebrate?
Learn a new word, or play a dictionary type game. I love Balderdash!
What are your favorite dictionary based board games? Please share your comments below for a chance to win a copy of A Snowy White Christmas, my e-book novella. One lucky random winner will be announced on Monday, October 17th, so check back on the blog for the announcement.