Verbs and Adjectives to Nouns: The Evolution of Headwords in Encyclopedias from the Late Seventeenth to the Late Nineteenth Century

Abstract

This article examines the changing forms of headwords in the partial differentiation of encyclopedias away from dictionaries from the late seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century. In the past, this differentiation has mostly been studied as a process of reducing lexical content in encyclopedias and reducing encyclopedic content in dictionaries, but it also manifested itself in the grammatical forms of allowable headwords. Specifically, proto-encyclopedias of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries tended to accept verbs and adjectives as headwords, whereas many general encyclopedias from the mid-nineteenth century onward virtually eliminated any headwords except nouns. Here I point to three causes for this development in encyclopedias’ headwords: an influx of historical material as general encyclopedias acquired their modern scope, a de-emphasis on terminology and technolects in favor of coverage of concepts, and a rising concern for standardization and making it easier for readers to find what they wanted.