Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis 129 supplementum (2012)

Colluuies
,
 
whan the erthe is couered with water by greatte floodes 
Pedatim
, where one foote goeth with the other, Foote by fote
16
Nakamoto (1998) has further examples of personal pronouns in definitions which may confuse 
foreign learners of English. For a more complete discussion of the strengths and weaknesses 
of FSDs, see Rundell (2006). 

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336 
ARLETA ADAMSKA-SAŁACIAK
Nauigabilis
, 
le
, where a shyppe maye passe, Nauigable
Praesidero
, 
are
, where tempest commeth very soone, and before the tyme accustomed
Orbem facere
, where people doo gather them rounde togyther in battayle
Elisha Coles (1676) also used 
wh
-definitions, albeit for a markedly different purpose 
than that which is behind their use in the modern MLDs. According to Osselton 
(2007: 393), most of Coles’ definitions were
truncated versions of more expansive and grammatically explicit entries taken from 
his main source-book, the dictionary of Edward Phillips, or from contemporary legal 
dictionaries and glossaries of nautical terms, dialect, etc.
Here are some of the examples quoted by Osselton (2007: 394ff):
Obtuse angle
, when two lines include more than a square.
Fall off
, when the ship keeps not near enough to the wind.
Livery-stable
, where Horses of Strangers stand at.
Judas tree
, (with broad leaves) whereon he is supposed (by some) to hang himself.
Lay-land
, which lies untilled.
Barresters, -rasters
, who (after 7 years study) are admitted to the bar.
Fleawort
, whose seed resembles a flea in bigness and colour. 
3.2. Extensional and encyclopaedic definitions
Sir Thomas Elyot and Elisha Coles are not exactly household names; Dr Samuel 
Johnson definitely is. Indeed, it is quite well known that, compared to later lexi-
cographers, Johnson (1755) liked to use a fairly free, discursive style. Also, in the 
manner of his contemporaries, he did not pretend that his definitions had nothing 
to do with the extent of his own knowledge or his personal opinions (see e.g. Moon 
1989: 71). To which we may add, in the context of the present discussion, that he did 
not avoid extensional definitions or steer clear of encyclopaedic information, as the 
following, much-quoted definition testifies:
DOG
, A domestick animal remarkably various in his species; comprising the mastiff, 
the spaniel, the buldog, the greyhound, the hound, the terrier, the cur, with many 
others. The larger sort are used as a guard; the less for sports.
Conclusions
One of the things we have tried to demonstrate is that not all the problems touched 
upon in the preceding sections are of equal importance. Thus, lexicographers do 
not need to lose sleep over indirect circularity or agonise over the impossibility of 

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Dictionary definitions: problems and solutions
337
separating linguistic from encyclopaedic information with surgical precision. By con-
trast, the threat of obscurity – a feature which can compromise the effectiveness of 
a definition – must be carefully addressed. Additionally, conveying non-denotative 
meaning and making sure definitions do not offend users’ sensibilities both pose 
a major challenge.
As for the proposed solutions, it seems that in the main they have been remarkably 
successful, their benefits outweighing the few disadvantages. Some of the solutions 
are commonsensical, based on the (unspoken) assumption that, when compiling 
a dictionary for human users, the lexicographer should behave like a human. A few 
defining strategies popularised by the English MLDs can be considered a return to 
tradition (but a tradition from before the late 18
th 
century, i.e. predating the advent of 
lexicographese). While postulating a straightforward causal connection would be too 
far-fetched (given that not many contemporary lexicographers are intimately familiar 
with the history of their discipline), it is still humbling to see how little is genuinely 
new. In any case, it is no longer unquestioningly assumed that all definitions must 
be of the Aristotelian kind,
17 
and that is definitely a welcome development. 
Finally, while the apparent historical precedents do not necessarily provide sup-
port for the use of any of the non-classical defining techniques today, it has to be 
stressed that arguments in their favour have come from other quarters as well. 
As shown by Geeraerts (2001), modern semantic theory has vindicated a number 
of alternative lexicographic practices, including the use of extensional definitions 
and the admission of encyclopaedic information into dictionaries. 
References
Dictionaries
Bailey N. 1721.