The fullest account ever published of the lexicography of English describes its history from medieval glosses to a high-tech industry and covers English in all its varieties, including American English. A unique reference uniting scholarship with readability. - ;These substantial volumes present the fullest account yet published of the lexicography of English from its origins in medieval glosses, through its rapid development in the eighteenth century, to a fully-established high-tech industry that is as reliant as ever on learning and scholarship. The history covers dictionaries of English an