''An Universal Etymological English Dictionary'' was a dictionary compiled by

Nathan Bailey Nathan Bailey (died 27 June 1742), was an English philologist and lexicographer. He was the author of several dictionaries, including his '' Universal Etymological Dictionary'', which appeared in some 30 editions between 1721 and 1802. Bailey's ...

(or Nathaniel Bailey) and first published in London in 1721. It was the most popular English dictionary of the eighteenth century. As an indicator of its popularity it reached its 20th edition in 1763 and its 27th edition in 1794.Reported by librarian Philip N. Cronenwett, year 1997, a
Dartmouth.edu Library Bulletin
who also reports that in the 18th century Bailey's dictionary "was almost universally accepted as the dictionary of choice". Its last edition (30th) was in 1802. It was a little over 900 pages long. In compiling his dictionary, Bailey borrowed greatly from

John Kersey John Kersey the younger ( fl. 1720) was an English philologist and lexicographer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. He is notable for editing three dictionaries in his lifetime: ''A New English Dictionary'' (1702), a revised ...

's ''

Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum The ''Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum'' is a dictionary compiled by philologist John Kersey, which was first published in London in 1708. It was the third dictionary he had edited, after his 1702 ''A New English Dictionary'' and his 1706 revision o ...

'' (1706), which in turn drew from the later editions of

Edward Phillips Edward Phillips (August 1630 – c. 1696) was an English author. Life He was the son of Edward Phillips of the crown office in chancery, and his wife Anne, only sister of John Milton, the poet. Edward Phillips the younger was born in Strand, L ...

's ''

The New World of English Words ''The New World of English Words, or, a General Dictionary'' is a dictionary compiled by Edward Phillips and first published in London in 1658. It was the first folio English dictionary. Contents As well as containing common words, the dictiona ...

''. Like Kersey's dictionary, Bailey's dictionary was one of the first monolingual English dictionaries to focus on defining words in common usage, rather than just difficult words. Although Bailey put the word "etymological" in his title, he gives definitions for many words without also trying to give the word's etymology – because he doesn't know what the etymology is. A very high percentage of the etymologies he does give are consistent with what's in today's English dictionaries. In 1727, Bailey published a supplementary volume entitled ''The Universal Etymological English Dictionary, Volume II''. Volume II, almost 900 pages, has some duplication or overlap with the primary volume, but mostly consists of extra words of lesser circulation. It was not as popular as the primary volume. The title page of the supplementary volume says it contains "An additional collection of words (not in the first volume) ALSO an explication of hard and technical words in all arts and sciences... ALSO words and phrases contained in our ancient charters, statutes, and processes at Law ALSO the theology and mythology of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans...."

References and external links

''Bailey's English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, year 1726
(downloadable at Archive.org)
''Bailey's English Dictionary'': supplementary volume called ''Volume II'', 3rd edition, year 1737
(downloadable Archive.org) English dictionaries 1721 books Etymological dictionaries English etymology {{dictionary-stub