Word Meaning in the Preface to A Dictionary of the English Language — Quiz
Question 28 • English Language Arts 12
Read the excerpts from Samuel Johnson’s preface to A Dictionary of the English Language . Many quotations serve no other purpose, than that of proving the bare existence of words, and are therefore selected with less scrupulousness than those which are to teach their structures and relations. Thus have I laboured by settling the orthography, displaying the analogy, regulating the structures , and ascertaining the signification of English words, to perform all the parts of a faithful lexicographer. In both excerpts, the word structure refers to the
Answer
A
components, or parts, of words.
B
organization of alphabetical entries.
C
places, or institutions, that house books.
D
ways a dictionary is assembled.
Explanation
In both excerpts, “structure” describes something about English words themselves. Johnson distinguishes words’ structures from their meanings and explains that he is regulating how words are formed and used. So “structure” means the components, or parts, of words—not the organization of dictionary entries.
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