Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Samuel Johnson, Author of the Dictionary?
Writers and readers (and that's almost everyone) often need a dictionary. A dictionary is a book. It lists words in alphabetical order. It explains the words' meanings. It tells how to say the word. It tells what part of speech the word is or how it can be used. It often tells the origin of the word (from what language the word came). These days, we often use an online dictionary or one that is built into our computers.
The earliest dictionaries date back to 2300 B.C.! Clay tablets have been found in Syria. These tablets contained lists of words in two languages-they were bilingual dictionaries! The Chinese had a dictionary in only one language in about the third century B.C. Dictionaries have been around as long as humans have been writing things down, it seems.
Samuel Johnson is often given credit .....
