John Ash (c. 1724–1779) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Baptist minister Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

Pershore Pershore () is a market town and civil parish in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2011 UK census, census, the population was 7,125. The town is best known for Per ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, and author of an English dictionary and grammar books.

Life

Ash was born in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

about 1724. He studied for the ministry at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, under Bernard Foskett, became pastor at

Loughwood Meeting House Loughwood Meeting House is a historic Baptist chapel, south of the village of Dalwood, Devon in England. There was a meeting house on this site in 1653, although the current building may date from the late 17th century or early 18th ...

, a Baptist chapel near the village of

Dalwood Dalwood is a village and county parish in the East Devon district of the English county Devon. It is approximately away from the nearest town, Axminster, and away from Honiton. Dalwood can be accessed by the nearby A35 road. The village is ...

in Dorset, and while there contributed to periodicals. He settled in the ministry at Pershore in 1746, as the result of a compromise between different parties in the congregation. He obtained a degree of

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from a Scottish university in 1774, and died at Pershore in March or April 1779, aged 55.

Works

Ash is best known as a lexicographer, author of:
''New and Complete Dictionary of the English Language... To which is prefixed a comprehensive grammar''. Vol IVol. II
1775, 2nd edition 1795. Ash's ''New and Complete Dictionary'' was noteworthy for the number of

obsolete Obsolescence is the process of becoming antiquated, out of date, old-fashioned, no longer in general use, or no longer useful, or the condition of being in such a state. When used in a biological sense, it means imperfect or rudimentary when comp ...

and

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Canad ...

words contained in it. It incorporated most of

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 collection of

canting ' (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, VOS Spelling: , ) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax () in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely (). Traditional consists of copper wax-con ...

words. This dictionary was the first to define in English the previously omitted words ''

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

'' and ''

cunt "Cunt" () is a vulgar word for the vulva in its primary sense, and it is used in a variety of ways, including as a term of disparagement. "Cunt" is often used as a disparaging and obscene term for a woman in the United States, an unpleas ...

''. His debt to

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

was demonstrated in a famous error in his

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of the word ''

curmudgeon Curmudgeon may refer to: * ''Dyskolos'', sometimes translated ''The Curmudgeon'', an ancient Greek comic play by Menander * ''Curmudgeons'' (film), a 2016 short film * '' Curmudgeon'', b-side of Nirvana's ''Lithium'' single See also * ''I, Curmu ...

'', which he says derives from the French for "unknown correspondent"; Johnson's ''

A Dictionary of the English Language ''A Dictionary of the English Language'', sometimes published as ''Johnson's Dictionary'', was published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson. It is among the most influential dictionary, dictionaries in the history of the English la ...

'' from twenty years before had suggested (erroneously, as it happens) that the word derives from "cœur méchant" (malicious-hearted), attributing his information to an "unknown correspondent". ''Ash's Dictionary'' is mentioned in

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

's novel '' Far from the Madding Crowd''. An earlier work was:
''Grammatical Institutes''
''Grammatical Institutes; or, An Easy Introduction to Dr. Lowth's Grammar'', 1785 ed. (facsimile ed., 1979, Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, ). It has been commented that "Ash understood much better than Lowth what it took to write a grammar for children." Other works:
''Sentiments on Education, collected from the best writers; properly methodized, and interspersed with occasional observations''. Vol. IVol. II
1777
''The perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry. A sermon, preached in Broad-Mead, Bristol, before the Bristol Education Society, August 12, 1778''
1778 *''Dialogues of Eumenes''.'

References

#

# Notes about John Ash at

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

'
Word of the Day

to Ash's New and Complete Dictionary.

of Primary and Secondary Texts pertaining to the Study of English in Eighteenth-Century Great Britain (at Emory.edu)
The codifiers and the English language: tracing the norms of Standard English
#

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Ash, John 1720s births 1779 deaths 18th-century English Baptist ministers English lexicographers Year of birth uncertain Linguists of English Clergy from Dorset Writers from Dorset People from Pershore 18th-century English non-fiction writers 18th-century English male writers 18th-century English writers Members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham 18th-century lexicographers