Thorndike–Barnhart dictionaries
- Thorndike–Barnhart dictionaries
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notable series of school dictionaries widely used in the United States. Their content is based on the theories of Edward Lee Thorndike (
Thorndike, Edward L.), an educational psychologist, and Clarence Lewis Barnhart, lexicographer and editor, both pioneers in producing for school-aged readers dictionaries that were more than simplified versions of adult references.
Decisions regarding entries and their definitions were based on data compiled by Thorndike, who applied his educational-psychology expertise to lexicography. These data, which dealt with the frequency of word use in certain kinds of literature at various grade levels, were combined with Thorndike's first-time use for young readers of illustrative examples in definitions. This approach ultimately led to the separate publication of several dictionaries for particular grade-level groups.
After Thorndike's death (1949), Barnhart continued the preparation and editorship of the series. Although each of the dictionaries has undergone continuous revision, the original lexicographical principles are still intact.
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2010.
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Barnhart, Clarence Lewis — ▪ 1994 U.S. lexicographer and editor (b. Dec. 30, 1900, near Plattsburg, Mo. d. Oct. 24, 1993, Peekskill, N.Y.), devoted his life to the compilation and revision of dictionaries and, together with educational psychologist Edward Lee… … Universalium
Robert Barnhart — Robert K. Barnhart (1933 ndash; April 2007) was an American lexicographer and editor of various specialized dictionaries. He was co editor, with his father Clarence Barnhart, on some editions of the Thorndike Barnhart dictionaries and The World… … Wikipedia
Clarence Barnhart — Clarence Lewis Barnhart (1900–1993) was an American lexicographer best known for writing the Thorndike Barnhart series of graded dictionaries, which were based on word lists developed by psychological theorist Edward Thorndike. During World War… … Wikipedia
David Barnhart — David K. Barnhart (born 1941) is an American lexicographer who specializes in new words. He began his career helping his father, Clarence Barnhart, edit the Thorndike Barnhart dictionary series. In 1982 he, with his father, began work on The… … Wikipedia
dictionary — /dik sheuh ner ee/, n., pl. dictionaries. 1. a book containing a selection of the words of a language, usually arranged alphabetically, giving information about their meanings, pronunciations, etymologies, inflected forms, etc., expressed in… … Universalium
World Book Dictionary — The World Book Dictionary is a two volume English dictionary published as a supplement to the World Book Encyclopedia . It was originally published in 1963 under the editorship of Clarence Barnhart, who wrote definitions for the Thorndike… … Wikipedia
-onym — The suffix onym, in English and other languages, means word, name, and words ending in onym refer to a specified kind of name or word, most of which are classical compounds. For example, an acronym is a word formed from the initial letter or… … Wikipedia
Erin McKean — (born 1971) is an American lexicographer. She is the Chief Consulting Editor for American Dictionaries at Oxford University PressFact|date=May 2008 and was the Principal Editor of The New Oxford American Dictionary , second edition [cite book… … Wikipedia
