Temporal Summary of Samuel Johnson Dictionary Word List
BKG Note: The numbers of citations listed in the table below are partly derived from electronic searches for author names. My estimate of 113,600 authority citations in the 1755 Dict. word list and 2,800 citations added in the 1773 Dict. is in the same range as Stenberg, Theodore 1944, "Quotations of Pope in Johnson's Dictionary," Studies in English 197-210: 113,660 (1st); 116,620 (4th) based on an average number of quotations per page in an extended sample. My count includes etymology citations as well as quotations. I am reasonably confident in the proportion of citations in the various time periods below (by author death dates). To before 1568: 0.06 %; 1568 to before 1616: 11.4 %; 1616 to before 1626: 16.8 %; 1626 to before 1649: 8.4 %; 1649 to before 1674: 4.3%; 1674 to before 1700: 15%; 1700 to before 1719: 19.3%; 1719 to before 1745: 18.8%; after 1745: 6%. So, quotations from "the wells of English undefiled" (before 1660) amount to less than half the total.
With respect to quotations from living authors, 67 authorities were cited in the word list who were living at the time of publication of the Dict. 1st edition in 1755 (about 14% of the total word list authorities cited). For the 1773 4th Dict. edition, 11 added authorities were cited who were living at the time of publication (about 18% of the additional authorities cited in the 4th edition). A list of cited authors by death date and the estimated number of citations for each can be found on the Context - History Relevant to Authors page.
With respect to quotations from living authors, 67 authorities were cited in the word list who were living at the time of publication of the Dict. 1st edition in 1755 (about 14% of the total word list authorities cited). For the 1773 4th Dict. edition, 11 added authorities were cited who were living at the time of publication (about 18% of the additional authorities cited in the 4th edition). A list of cited authors by death date and the estimated number of citations for each can be found on the Context - History Relevant to Authors page.
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