Latin in the Lexicon

Abstract

In 1843, with the publication of the Greek-English Lexicon of Liddell and Scott, the decision to abandon the scholarly garb of Latin and opt for direct expression in the vernacular was, in its time, a remarkable one. And yet, despite almost every Greek lemma being rendered by Liddell and Scott into English, Latin plays a significant role in their Lexicon. In fact, every single page of the work, at least in its first few editions, contains some Latin. This chapter explores how and why Latin continued to play a significant role for Liddell and Scott, notwithstanding the impropriety of its allegedly ‘feeble and defective’ character. It traces a course through these different roles played by Latin in the Lexicon, before turning to the more protean—and somewhat purposeless—deployment of the language before its time was called by the editors of the ninth edition (1925–40).