N.H., The Ladies Dictionary (1694)

The ladies dictionary, being a general entertainment for the fair-sex was published on 19 March 1694 by John Dunton. No compiler was named on the title page, but the dedication by 'the author' addressed 'to the Ladies, Gentlewomen, and Others, of the Fair-Sex' was signed 'N. H.' The book offers around 1950 lexical and encyclopaedic entries, the great majority excerpted either verbatim or with some degree of abridgement or adaptation from other published books. It was the first substantial r...