Cassell's English Dictionary [antikvár]

PREFACEFor this edition of Cassell's English Dictionary much fresh matter has been gathered. English is an universal language, spoken not only as a mother-tongue in wide-spread portions of the globe, but as the oíiicial language of other vast areas. It is, moreover, employed as a linguafranca, an essential médium of com-munication, by politicians, scientists, technicians and men of letters of all nations. The requirements of the ever-expanding knowledge and culture of mankind have rightly called for new terms to phrase needs of expression far removed from those in which the originál language developed, and Cassell's English Dictionary has collected many such words and phrases and in-corporated them in their rightful place as component parts of the English tongue. In North America, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Africa conditions have, over the years, arisen that have called for new words to express new directions of thought in terms and phrases particularly adapted to the circumstances. It has been the endeavour of the compilers to collect these and insert them in the dictionary. Where the originál English word has acquired a new significance, or has been replaced by a different term, this is shown clearly in the text; for example, under "curtain" is printed in brackets (Am. drape), indicating the word used for a curtain in North America.Cassell's English Dictionary contains a vocabulary of somé hundred and thirty thousand words and phrases. The first aim has been to give all words in ordinary use, including scientific, technical and other specialized terms likely to be met with by the reader or student, and a large number of combining forms (e.g. ante-, anti-, arch-, dis-, -esce, -graph, homo-, -ish, -ize, -ing, myo-, -phile, sub-), furnishing the key to the meaning of new coinages. Particular care has been given to the definitions. They are given clearly and concisely, but fully; and are couched in such language that the annoyance of having to make recourse to other parts of the Dictionary to arrive at the exact meaning of a word is reduced to a minimum. The common or more usual meaning of a word is usually given priority of place, and obsolete meanings, as alsó obsolete and archaic words, have been marked with an asterisk (#).The word itself, with its compounds and derivatives, is printed in heavy type. Where there are two or more words with identicalvii