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Glite Dictionary
James Augustus Murray

James Augustus Murray

8.0
A Scottish language expert who is best known as the main editor of the first Oxford English Dictionary
  • proper noun
: James Augustus Henry Murray
  • The famous lexicographer James Augustus Murray edited the first Oxford English Dictionary.

Examples

  • James Augustus Murray devoted decades of his life to compiling the Oxford English Dictionary.

  • Historians often credit James Augustus Murray for establishing rigorous standards in dictionary editing.

  • The contributions of James Augustus Murray greatly shaped the field of English lexicography.

  • Did James Augustus Murray really work on the dictionary for over twenty years?

  • James Augustus Murray is well-known for his role as the principal editor of the first Oxford English Dictionary.

  • Many regard James Augustus Murray as a pioneering figure in the development of modern lexicography.

  • The impact of James Augustus Murray's work can still be seen in dictionaries today.

Synonyms

James Murray
vsJames Augustus Murray
1 7.3

A Scottish scholar who led the work to make the Oxford English Dictionary

is the fuller name form that includes middle names or titles
James Augustus Henry Murray
vsJames Augustus Murray
9.6

A Scottish language scholar who is the chief editor of the first Oxford English Dictionary

is the same figure but uses the shorter name without the middle name
Sir James Augustus Henry Murray
vsJames Augustus Murray
9.9

A Scottish scholar who led the team that made the first Oxford English Dictionary

is identical in role but lacks the honorific title

Surface Forms

James Augustus Murray main

Morphology

James + Augustus + Murray

This is a personal name (a referential proper noun); knowing the constituent words 'James', 'Augustus', and 'Murray' does not allow a learner to infer the biographical meaning that he was a Scottish philologist and editor of the first OED. Proper names are non-compositional and language-specific, so the MWE's referent and role are not derivable from its parts.

Etymology

James Augustus Murray was a Scottish word collector who spent years reading, travelling and asking people for examples of how English was used, writing each word on slips of paper for a new dictionary called the 'Oxford English Dictionary'. He was the main editor who put these pieces together, so his name is linked to the first big modern English dictionary.