Whats A Mirror??

Division of Words

     IN WRITING, correct and careful division of words is A VIRTUE; in printing, it is

A NECESSITY.  If words were not divided at the ends of lines we should have to choose

between these two unwelcome possibilities: an irregular right-hand page margin or

bad spacing within the lines to fill them out.  There is a third alternative that

deserves mention but no comment beyond a brief and emphatic word of dismissal:

to break the words MECHANICALLY at the end to the line, as in the following:

         Four score and seven years ago our fathe

 rs brought forth on this continent a new n

 ation, conceived in liberty and dedicated t

   o the proposition that all men are creat      

ed equal.                                                     

     Division of words is SYLLABICATION, division into syllables or integral units of

sound.  Correct division enables the reader's eye to pass from line to line with a minimum

of inconvenience and the least possible diversion of attention from the meaning of the text.

Bad division imposes upon the reader a burden of study which is not fairly to be

exacted of him--and for which THE WRITER pays--heavily--in distraction of atten-

tion.  Bad division makes bumps in the road.

Principles of Syllabication

    First, let this elementary and fundamental principle be established in the mind:

A syllable is the unit of vocal sounding, and is therefore the unit in division; and

every syllable contains a vowel, about which the consonants group.

     Following are a few basic principles:

     1--When two consonants standing together are flanked by vowels, divide between

the consonants: bil-lion, destruc-tive, dis-pose, ex-postulate, op-portunity, par-lor.  (But

note that this rule is sometimes superseded by another, as by the second rule in this

code.)

     2--Two side-by-side consonants that are terminal in the stem word are not sep-

arated: thrill-ing.  (Note that here we have a true double consonant, whereas the 

seemingly double consonants in the words in Rule I, as billion, opportunity, are

broken between two syllables, one in each, and are therefore not properly to be

considered as doubled.)

     3--When three consonants occur in unbroken succession, it is customary to divide 

after the first: an-gry, chil-dren, kin-dred.

Prefixes and Suffixes

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     4--Where a noun in -er or -ing is made from a verb ending in -e, and the -e is

dropped, it is best to divide between the root section of the noun and its ending:

bak-er, danc-ing, not ba-ker, dan-cing.

     5--Long vowels, or unaccented short ones, commonly close the syllable in which

they occur, and the following consonant belongs to the next syllable: ca-pable,

ca-pacity; mon-archy (accent on first syllable), mo-narchic (accent on second syllable);

pecu-nious, sepa-ration; commu-nion, exami-nation; mechan-ical, mecha-nism.  (Note

that these examples are subject to further consideration; for example, it is better to

divide mech-anism than mecha-nism, but when placement of the n becomes unavoid-

able, it correctly separates from the a.)

     6--A consonant following a short vowel sound is commonly included in its syllable:

bun-ion, compar-ison, graph-ic (the digraph ph is considered as a single consonant),

prob-able, prod-uce (the noun), sep aration   (Note--When this rule leads to forma-

tion of a misleading first syllable, the division is frequently changed, as in lo-gic

and ma-gic instead of log-ic and mag-ic, the g being kept in touch with the i  which

determines its sounding, soft as in gin rather than hard as in log.)

     7--Words formed of a main stem with a prefix that causes no shift of accent are

commonly divided after the prefix, as in pre-fix itself.  Examples: ante-chamber,

anti-slavery, hemi-sphere, post-war, pre-concerted, sub-marine.  (Caution.--Do not con-

fuse these division hyphens with compounding symbols.)

     Word division is part of the mechanics of writing and print, but correct under-

standing of it contribution to the success of writing as an art, because it lessens the

requirement of reader effort.

INTRODUCTION

THIS Dictionary is named WEBSTER'S NEW AMERICAN DICTIONARY for

     definite and practical reasons.  In a most highly developed field of dic-

tionary publishing, basic items of form--such as the treatment of definitions,

spelling, and compounding--have been standardized and ably presented to 

the American public in many editions and under numerous titles.  These

standardized components of dictionary making resist arbitrary change and

defy revolution.  No publisher or lexicographer may take liberties with them,

for they must root, grow, or change by one, and only one, great law--the

highly democratic LAW OF USAGE.

    Throughout the world, wherever English is spoken or written, the law of
usage is absolute.  The United States and England provide the lexicographers
for the English-speaking world.  On both sides of the Atlantic the law of
usage has demanded certain differences in minor phases of European and
American English.  Fortunately for both of these two greatest of English-
speaking peoples, the range of difference in their forms of writing their com-
mon language has narrowed to a point where it may truly be said that the
remaining distinctions are largely without differences.  In speaking there
exists a wider bridge, but what with the radio and travel working at fusion,
even this difference is melting away.  And while Americans inevitably gravi-
tate toward British and Canadian pronunciation, these latter have come a
long way into the field of America's vital English in the matter of the written
word.  So there is fair exchange, and the good work continues.  One day,
perhaps at no remote date, there may be only one standard of English, and
on common type of dictionary for both countries.
     Meantime, in WEBSTER'S NEW AMERICAN DICTIONARY, the spelling, the
pronunciation, the definitions, the fundamentals generally and severally,
are in accord with the law of usage.
     The METHOD, the ACCESSIBILITY,  the PRACTICABILITY, features in WEB-
STER'S NEW AMERICAN DICTIONARY, however, are new--and are "New
American."
     There is a tempo in American activities.  Right or wrong, commendable
or not, that tempo is; and it is impatient, impulsive, is some respects even
somewhat intolerant.  Applied to the use of a dictionary, it demands (1) ac-
curacy and reliability; (2) practical adequacy; (3) SIMPLICITY; (4) time-
saving, with essentials first and details restricted to general usefulness.  The
average American is "going somewhere," doing something else, when he
consults his dictionary.  And if perchance he be a pedant, and perhaps not
average, he is nevertheless American, and will, therefore, we trust, appre-
ciate the convenience of this time- and patience-saving work.

Introduction

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     IN planning this book, the first purpose of editors and publishers was to

make a truly Simplified dictionary.  For the ordinary consultant, most dic-

tionaries are overloaded.  They offer an embarrassment of riches.  Such a

dictionary as we have visualized must carry as complete a word list as

possible.  The "average" person of today has a larger vocabulary than his 

grandfather had.  How could it be otherwise, with so many new inventions

that enter into the daily lives of people, contributing new terms to their

common equipment of speech?  Movies, auto, radio, airplane, and even

war, have poured streams of new words into the reservoirs of language.

The crossword puzzle, the radio quiz, and the new demand for correct

pronunciation have sent people scurrying to the dictionaries.  These are not

mere passing fads and fancies, the sport of a day; they are phenomena of

present-day life that must, and obviously do, add to the opportunities of

dictionary making,

     So in the making of this book we have striven to meet all possible demands

of the "average" person, the student, the business person, man or woman,

as well as the word-hunter.  Thus:

         (1)  The definitions have been made as brief and compact as pos-

                   sible without sacrificing clearness of expression and fullness

                   of meaning.

         (2)  Comment on the history and peculiar uses of words has been

                   held down to the minimum required by the needs of con-

                   sultants generally.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO HUNT!

         (3)  The chief merit claimed for this book is the Completeness of its

                    individual entries.  It is seldom necessary to run the eye back up

                    the page to find the key to a word's pronunciation.

                  

         (4)  Pronunciation is simple, almost automatic, avoiding the use of

                     involved diacritical marks or complicated "key."

         (5)  Definitions are composed in simple English phraseology.

         (6)  The book's time- and patience-saving methods, we trust you

                     will find, make it in fact what its name implies:

WEBSTER'S NEW AMERICAN DICTIONARY.

          For special self-educational features, see Table of Contents.

EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS.

     New York, 1947.

WEBSTER'S

New  AMERICAN

DICTIONARY

COMPLETELY NEW AND UP TO DATE.  PLANNED AND

WRITTEN BY MODERN EDUCATORS AND LEXICOGRAPHERS

ESPECIALLY TO SERVE THE ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

OF SCHOOL, COLLEGE, AND SELF-EDUCATION AT HOME

Managing Editor

LEWIS M. ADAMS

Editor-in-chief

EDWARD N. TEALL, A.M.

C. RALPH TAYLOR, A.M.,

Author of Self-Education Department and Associate Editor;

Editor "The Home University Encyclopedia," "New American Encyclopedia,"

author of "Vital English"

Simplified Self-Education Treatises on:

GRAMMAR PUNCTUATION VOCABULARY TESTS

WRITING PRONUNCIATION WORDS MISPRONOUNCED

SPEAKING CAPITALIZATION  DANGER FLAGS

Illustrated -- Self-Pronouncing -- Synonyms -- Antonyms

This Dictionary is not published by the original pub-

lishers of Webster's Dictionary, or by their successors

1959

B O O K S,   I N C .

NEW  YORK

1959

B O O K S,   I N C .

NEW  YORK