The ''Promptorium parvulorum'' (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
: "Storehouse for children") is an English-Latin
bilingual dictionary
A bilingual dictionary or translation dictionary is a specialized dictionary used to translate words or phrases from one language to another. Bilingual dictionaries can be ''unidirectional'', meaning that they list the meanings of words of one la ...
that was completed about 1440 AD. It was the first English-to-Latin dictionary.
It occupies about 300 printed book pages.
The ''Promptorium Parvulorum'' as published in 1865, downloadable at Archive.org
Its authorship is attributed to Geoffrey the Grammarian, a friar who lived in Lynn, Norfolk, England.[Entry for "Geoffrey the Grammarian" in ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (edition published 1885-1900), volume 21.]
After the invention of the printing press, the ''Promptorium'' was published repeatedly in the early 16th century by printer Wynkyn de Worde
Wynkyn de Worde (died 1534) was a printer and publisher in London known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England.
Name
Wynkyn de Worde was a German immigra ...
. In the 19th century, the Camden Society
The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary ...
republished it under the extended title ''Promptorium parvulorum sive clericorum'' (“Storehouse for children or clerics”). For language historians it is a major reference work for the vocabulary of late medieval English. It is a frequently cited reference in today's primary dictionary of late medieval English, the ''Middle English Dictionary
''The Middle English Dictionary'' is a dictionary of Middle English published by the University of Michigan. "Its 15,000 pages offer a comprehensive analysis of lexicon and usage for the period 1175–1500, based on the analysis of a collection o ...
'', published by the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
.
See also
* '' Catholicon Anglicum'', an English-to-Latin dictionary dated 1485
References
External links
The ''Promptorium Parvulorum'' as published in 1865, downloadable at Archive.org
15th-century Latin books
1440s books
English bilingual dictionaries
Latin dictionaries
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