Welcome back to another episode of Five Minutes in Church History.

In 1828, Noah Webster published his American Dictionary of the English Language.

Back in 1755, Samuel Johnson served as the editor of an enormous

undertaking the dictionary of the English language, but by 1828, after America's

independency and into the federal period, Noah Webster believed America needed its own

dictionary. And so he set out in 1828 and published his American Dictionary of the English

language. Among the many interesting words in there, you'll find the definition of cat. And it includes

this. The domestic cat needs no description.

It is a deceitful animal, and when enraged, extremely spiteful.

So this is a very interesting dictionary, isn't it?

Noah Webster's dictionary.

He was quite the lexicographer, and as I looked up the word lexicographer, I realized

that it was first used in 1603. And as an aside, it was used by George Dalname. He was

Bishop of Derry. And he first used the word lexicographer in 1603 in his book,

a treatise concerning Antichrist. He was looking at the meanings of the preposition anti,

and he references, quote, Greek writers and lexicographers. And he used that word to focus on

the linguistic authority behind his argument, the argument

he was making for naming the Antichrist.

And of course, he concluded that the Antichrist was the Pope.

Well, I digress. Dictionaries can do that for me.

I love going on chases of words through dictionaries, but back to Noah Webster.

I mentioned his dictionary, but he wrote a couple other books of reports.

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