FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2023-70 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (April 14, 2023) – In today’s edition of Fun with Maps from Steve Kovacs, we learn a little story about the book with all the words you need for story-telling.  

Lexicon

A lexicon is the totality of the vocabulary of a language, and a dictionary is a listing from the lexicon.

This little bit of trivia didn’t stop, then 70-year-old, Noah Webster from getting a copyright for his American Dictionary (and not a lexicon) 195 years ago, on April 14, 1828.

The language has evolved from those days and hence the Dictionary has been revised many times since. 

No one foresaw words being introduced because of technological advances or cultural changes.

What should or shouldn’t be included in a Dictionary has been up for debate since the first edition.

Webster had a hard time finding a real job both after his liberal arts education at Yale (said he: “liberal arts education disqualifies a man for business”) or later as a lawyer.  Finally he found his calling – organizing things; hence his dictionary.

Noah Webster was born and died in Connecticut.  Thus, here is a map of his state by Colton from 1855.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.