Why I love a Thesaurus

Today is National Thesaurus Day. Can I tell you a secret? My trusty Thesaurus has moved with me oodles of times. I would NEVER EVER think of getting rid of my Thesaurus. In fact, this little book is part of a set that I got for work way, way back in 1980.

You can still buy a desk set similar to this one on Amazon. It is the Essential Desk Reference Set. It is not the hardvocer books that I have, but at least you can get a more recent set.

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The GOLD STANDARD

My husband had a better one – a much better one. A well-loved, well-used one. I had never seen or heard of one until we were dating and I saw it on his shelf of reference books. It is THE GOLD STANDARD of thesauruses because it’s a Roget’s and Peter Mark Roget wrote the very first thesaurus. Our daughter now has that book (and probably the stdent version she had during her school years).

Who is Roget?

Peter Mark Roget was born in London in 1779. From the accounts I read of him, he seemed to be a very detailed, disciplined, organized person. We’d probably call him OCD today. [In my thinking, OCD is perfectly fine as long as it’s channeled well – which some writings about him hinted that he used this to help him.] He was also very smart. He graduated medical school at the early age of 19. While being a physician was his profession, creating the first thesaurus was his avocation.

What Does Thesaurus mean?

According to Dictionary.com, the word thesaurus comes from the Latin and Greek meaning a treasury or treasure, a storehouse. The root of the word comes from tithinai meaning “to put to place.” It goes on to say, “a collection of words arranged according to sense.” The word was FIRST USED in the Title of Mr. Roget’s book, Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases… (it had a VERY long title). Isn’t it interesting when you understand the meaning of the word Thesaurus you get a glimpse of what this catalog of words meant to him: a treasure, a storehouse of treasure, a treasury.

Why Did he Write it?

Roget was an avid list-maker. He was a very detail-oriented person. He liked things categorized and cross-referenced.

When Did he Write it?

While he was in school and during the early part of his career as a doctor, Mr. Roget worked on putting together words of similar meanings (synonyms) in groupings. At the time he was the secretary of a library. But in 1805, he needed to put aside his avocation while he worked as a physician. He didn’t pick up the work again until after he retired in 1840. The first Thesaurus was printed in 1852.

How Was it Received?

Mr. Roget had 1,000 copies printed int he first run. They immediately sold out. By the time he died 17 years later there had been 28 printings of his book. It is STILL a best-selling book year after year.

Who Took Over his Work?

Mr. Roget’s son, John, took over the work for his father. He actually expanded the work. John Roget’s son, Samuel, took over for his father. Eventually, the work was sold to a firm in London which meticulously continues and expands the work.

Doesn’t that inspire you to get a Thesaurus? Sure you can “Google it.” but I find it’s much faster to just grab the book. Click on any of the links above to look at the version I mentioned. It’s even a fun game with the kids to call out a word, have one person look it up and then everyone attempting to name all the synonyms. Now doesn’t that sound like more fun than everyone staring at their electronic devices?

Have a great day…

#NationalThesaurusDay