Johnson's Dictionary, published in 1755, standardised around how many words?

Johnson's Dictionary, published in 1755, standardised around how many words?

• A. About 60,000
• B. About 20,000
• C. About 80,000
• D. About 40,000

Answer: (D)

Johnson's Dictionary set out to standardise English by compiling a definitive list of word meanings, spellings, and usage. The size people most often cite for its core lexicon is about 40,000 headwords. That figure represents the main words the dictionary defined and organized, making it the most substantial effort of its time to standardise English vocabulary. It also famously included a large number of quotations—around 114,000—to show how those words were used in real contexts, but the count that defines its scope as a standardised dictionary is the roughly 40,000 headwords. The other options are simply larger or smaller than this widely accepted size.

Johnson's Dictionary set out to standardise English by compiling a definitive list of word meanings, spellings, and usage. The size people most often cite for its core lexicon is about 40,000 headwords. That figure represents the main words the dictionary defined and organized, making it the most substantial effort of its time to standardise English vocabulary. It also famously included a large number of quotations—around 114,000—to show how those words were used in real contexts, but the count that defines its scope as a standardised dictionary is the roughly 40,000 headwords. The other options are simply larger or smaller than this widely accepted size.