Concise dictionary of the Greek language

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Title page of the revision of Rust and Palm (1841).

The concise dictionary of the Greek language is an ancient Greek - German dictionary, written by the classical philologist Franz Passow (1786–1833). It was the most important dictionary of its kind until the late 19th century and served as the template for the Greek-English Lexicon .

history

Passow's dictionary is based on the Critical Greek-German Concise Dictionary (1797) by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider . During his stay in Breslau (from 1816) the first preparatory work for a revision of the dictionary was made. After Passow had already expressed himself in an essay in 1813 "on the purpose, structure and addition of Greek dictionaries", he began working on his concise dictionary in 1819-23. The first edition appeared in two volumes in 1819 and 1823, with the original clearly in front, under the title “Johann Gottlob Schneider's Concise Dictionary of the Greek Language. According to the third edition of the great Greek-German dictionary with special reference to Hom. u. Hesiod. Elaborated according to usage and with precise indication of the syllable length ”.

The second edition followed in 1825 and the third edition in 1827. After three years, the 10,000 copies were already out of print, which is why Passow published the fourth edition in 1831, with the title: "Concise dictionary of the Greek language by Franz Passow". Passow died in 1833 after a stroke, which is why the further editing of the dictionary was taken over by Valentin Rost and Johann Friedrich Palm . They brought out a two-volume revision in 1841 and 1857.

meaning

The concise dictionary of the Greek language was the most important reference work of its kind in the German-speaking area in the 19th century. Even then it was known as "the Passow" after its founder. However, after the editorial work was finished, the work did not develop any further and became obsolete. Smaller-format works by Gustav Eduard Benseler and Wilhelm Gemoll could not replace the comprehensive concise dictionary . It was often reprinted unchanged in the 20th century.

The Greek-English Lexicon , the first edition of which appeared in 1845, is of greater importance for modern Greek studies . It is an English adaptation of Passow's dictionary and was edited by Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott and is still edited to this day. It is therefore used even in German-speaking countries. This so-called "Liddell-Scott-Jones" was recently published in 1996 with a supplement. It forms the basis for other dictionaries, such as the Diccionario Griego-Español .

literature

Web links