Orthographic variation (chiefly due to chronological differences in the texts) has made difficult a compact yet clear arrangement of the glossary; however, the variant forms in parentheses, the principal parts of the verbs, and citations will be found, it is believed, to mitigate the somewhat sparing use of cross-references. The etymological hints conveyed either in the definitions or by the bracketed forms will suggest some of the fundamental principles of derivation, but they are especially meant to lead the student to consult the Etymological Dictionaries of Skeat and Kluge.
It is pleasant to acknowledge the special obligations incurred in the preparation of this book. The kind assistance, already mentioned, given by Professor Skeat and Professor Napier is to be added to many personal kindnesses in the past; I also regard it as a further pledge of their hearty interest in the cause of English studies in America. My thanks are due to Dr. Frank G. Hubbard for the use of a sheaf of his first gleanings in the libraries of England, and to Professor James Morgan Hart, of Cornell University, for valuable suggestions always freely given. More than can be expressed in a brief acknowledgment is due to Professor George Lyman Kittridge, of Harvard University; he has read the entire work in proof with the discrimination of a scholar and with the helpfulness of a friend.
Johns Hopkins University,
December 1, 1891.
