Minsheu, John

MINSHAEI EMENDATIO, VEL A MENDIS EXPURGATIO, SEU AUGMENTATIO SUI DUCTORIS IN LINGUAS, THE GUIDE INTO TONGUES. CUM ILLARUM HARMINIA, & ETYMOLOGIJS, ORIGINATIONIBUS, RATIONIBUS, & DERIVATIONIBUS IN OMNIBUS HIS NOVEM LINGUIS, VIZ. 1. ANGLICA. 2. BELGICA. 3 GERMANICA. 4. GALLICA. 5. ITALICA. 6. HISPANICA. 7. LATINA. 8. GRAECA. 9. HEBRAEA, &C. [...] THE GUIDE INTO THE TONGUES. WITH THEIR AGREEMENT AND CONSENT ONE WITH ANOTHER, AS ALSO THEIR ETYMOLOGIES, THAT IS, THE REASONS AND DERIVATIONS OF ALL OR THE MOST

London: by John Haviland, 1627. Item #41635

PART OF WORDS, IN THESE NINE LANGUAGES, VIZ. 1. ENGLISH. 2. LOW DUTCH. 3. HIGH DUTCH. 4. FRENCH. 5. ITALIAN. 6. SPANISH. 7. LATINE. 8. GREEKE. 9. HEBREW, &C. ... BY THE INDUSTRIE, STUDIE, LABOUR, AND AT THE CHARGES OF IOHN MINSHEU PUBLISHED AND PRINTED. 22o. IULY, ANNO 1625. SECOND EDITION. 2nd edition, revised. Later Cloth, folio (26 x 40 cm), [1], 760 double-columns [ie 380 pages]. Title page is within an ornamental border. Printed i Black, Roman, Italic and Greek and Hebrew letters with side notations (printed margin notations). Includes three ornate woodcut headpieces and initials. This is the 2nd and most thorough edition of Minsheu's polyglot dictionary with "The Reasons and Derivations of all or the most part of words" in English, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, along with historical explanations and usage samples. This edition includes proper names "of the Bible...Countries, Cities, Townes, Hilles, Rivers, Flouds, Promontaries, Ports, Creekes, Islands, Seas, Men, Women, Gods, Peoples, and other things of note" as well as an "Exposition of the Termes of the Lawes of this Land...with the description of the Magistracies, Offices and Officers" which was evidently aiming for the growing market in legal texts. The work serves for scholars today as s a dictionary of day to day English at the start of the 17th Century, and is of immense help in understanding the speech in the works of Johnson and Shakespeare. We also learn here that the word 'nicotine' is from Jean Nicot who in 1560 brought tobacco to France. Lowndes IV 1570: "Minsheu's guide is a very important work and has furnished great assistance to subsequent lexicographers. Todd...This edition is by some prefered for its additions and corrections." Alden 627/76; "An etymological dictionary with definitions and sources for numerous words relating to the Americas (617/93). Alston II 107. c.v. F. B. Williams "Scholarly Publications in Shakespeare's Day." Name of previous owner [“John Hammiher (?) Major”] on title, beautiful clean paper with good margins and strong binding, Very Good Condition in modern binding, a very nice copy. (AC-23-1).

Price: $950.00