Tag: Noah Webster

October 16th Dictionary Day

October Holidays

I am always amused how those of us who are terrible at spelling are always told to look up a word in the dictionary to get the proper spelling, but you also need to know how to spell the word to find it in the dictionary! I guess that will never change. Today is the anniversary of Noah Webster’s birthday, October 16th, 1758. He started writing it when he was 43 and it took him 27 years to complete his draft and publish it. Naturally, it has had words added and revisions made but overall it’s still pretty much the book he wrote.

How to celebrate – Read the dictionary for fun! Try to learn a new word a day. Look at the difference in older dictionaries and newer ones.

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October 16th National Dictionary Day

October Holidays

October 16th National Dictionary Day

We all know just how important a dictionary is. My biggest problem is when you ask someone how to spell a word and they tell you to look it up in a dictionary it’s a bit unhelpful. You need to know how to spell the word to look it up! Noah Webster is credited with creating the dictionary used in America in 1758. Of course we’ve added a lot of words since then, some that probably should not have been added but just ignore those. If you want to grow your vocabulary try joining the Grandiloquent Word of the Day organization. They will send you a new word every day to add to what you already know. That means that in a year, you’ll have another 365 words to use that no one else understands!

How to celebrate – Read a dictionary just for fun. Try looking up a word you don’t know! (Might be a challenge here) Create your own dictionary using your own made up words.

October 16th National Dictionary Day

October Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

Today we celebrate the guy that tells us what all those words we don’t understand mean. Well, it’s good somebody does… I’m just not sure what the point of using them is but at least we know where to go look them up!

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Daniel Webster was 43 when he started writing the dictionary. It took him 27 years to finish it, and it has changed even since then as words are added and created. He is known as the Father of the American Dictionary. At least it was in English!

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And today is his birthday so it’s a great day to celebrate! In fact, every word I am typing in here is in his book. Even fiction is in his book although his book is not fiction. There are other words that apply to his book that are written in it but do not actually describe it… like, exciting, fun and joyful.

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Just kidding! Which is also a word in his book! The general idea is to learn a new word everyday so you are able to speak better. Never mind that no one will understand you, it’s important that you learn.

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Actually having a good vocabulary is important, knowing how to spell words is equally as important because spelling it wrong may cause great consternation. The one thing I never understood was when my teacher or parents told me to go lookup a word I didn’t know how to spell in the dictionary. Ah, hello… don’t you have to know how to spell it to look it up!?!

How to celebrate – See if you can find your dictionary. Have a dictionary party. Learn a new word today.