PREFACE. THE COMMON SCHOOL DICTIONARY here presented is compiled from Webster's International Dictionary of the English Language. As that work replaced Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, so this is designed to take the place of the Common School Dictionary originally prepared by Mr. William G. Webster, in 1857, and at various times revised and enlarged. The present volume is an entirely new work, and contains many words and definitions not to be found in its predecessors. Its purpose is to give the correct orthography, pronunciation, and definition of all words which pupils in Common Schools are likely to meet with. The pronunciation of every word is clearly shown by respelling with phonetic markings that are explained in the key lines below the pages. For the first time in a school dictionary, the pronunciation of unaccented syllables is thus accurately indicated. The addition of many new words, and the free use of illustrations to help in understanding the subject, have not excessively increased the bulk of the volume. Condensation has been accomplished by omitting definitions of derived words (mostly adverbs, adjectives, and abstract nouns) which are self-explaining as soon as the root word is understood; and, further, such derivatives have usually been grouped in the same paragraph with the root word, where this could be done without interrupting the alphabetical order. On the other hand, care has been taken to discriminate between words of the same spelling and pronunciation, but of different etymology and meaning. For instance, SOUND is a form representing four words of the same pronunciation but of widely different origin and sense. In older dictionaries such words appeared as one word with different meanings. This mode, tending to confuse or mislead the pupil, has been carefully avoided. Teachers and students will notice that the Vocabulary presented in this book is nearly twice as full, and the treatment of words much more satisfactory, than has ever before been attempted in a Common School Dictionary. This has been accomplished by making the book a dictionary of English words, and by omitting such special lists and phrases as |