lexicographer
Other forms: lexicographers
Ever wonder who writes dictionaries? They're called lexicographers. A lexicographer studies words and compiles the results into a dictionary.
This is one of several words for a certain type of writer or editor. Just as a playwright writes plays and a poet writes poems, a lexicographer puts together dictionaries. Lexicographer come up with definitions, determines parts of speech, gives pronunciations, and sometimes provides example sentences. Lexicographer need to do a lot of research to make sure they're defining a word correctly; dictionaries are books that people need to trust. If you love words, you might enjoy being a lexicographer.
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a compiler or writer of a dictionary; a student of the lexical component of languagesynonyms: lexicologistexamples:Nathaniel BaileyEnglish lexicographer who was the first to treat etymology consistently; his work was used as a reference by Samuel Johnson (died in 1742)Sir William Alexander CraigieEnglish lexicographer who was a joint editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (1872-1966)John FlorioEnglish lexicographer remembered for his Italian and English dictionary (1553-1625)Henry Watson FowlerEnglish lexicographer who wrote a well-known book on English usage (1858-1933)Samuel JohnsonEnglish writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)Pierre Athanase LarousseFrench lexicographer (1817-1875)Maximilien Paul Emile LittreFrench lexicographer (1801-1881)Sir James Augustus Henry MurrayScottish philologist and the lexicographer who shaped the Oxford English Dictionary (1837-1915)Noah WebsterUnited States lexicographer (1758-1843)Joseph Emerson WorcesterUnited States lexicographer who was accused of plagiarism by Noah Webster (1784-1865)types:etymologista lexicographer who specializes in etymologyneologista lexicographer of new words and expressionssynonymista student of synonymstype of:compilera person who compiles information (as for reference purposes)
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Vocabulary lists containing lexicographer
Practice this vocabulary list and explore words that contain the Greek roots graph ("write/writing") and gram ("written thing").
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