Arabic and Persian Lexicography [pp. 190-195]

./irabic and Persian Lexicography.
definitions have been carefully collated with those of Meninski, and the errors rectified. Many thousands of words given
by the latter, though omitted by Richardson, have been inserted. In all cases of doubt, an appeal has been made from
Meninski and Golius to the Camus; from which source likewise thousands of words are added, which were overlooked by
Golius. What we have mentioned would be quite enough
to set the work immeasurably above the first edition. But
the half is not yet told. The whole of Willmet's excellent
lexicon, adapted to the Koran, Hariri, and the Life of Timur,
is incorporated here. And as only a small portion of Hariri
had been published, when that work appeared, the definitions given in the Arabic Scholia to Hariri, contained in De
Sacy's beautiful edition, (1 vol. fol. Paris, 1822,) have been
translated and inserted in their places.
A slight comparison convinced us, that the original work
had undergone surprising changes; but we must confess that
we were somewhat startled by the assertion of such large improvements, especially the incorporation of so great a mass of
valuable matter-even of whole books. To satisfy our scruples, we have resorted to experiment, trying the dictionary
upon certain passages taken promiscuously from the Koran
and Hariri. Though we dare not vouch for the perfection of
so large a work, we freely say, that so far as we have gone,
the editor's pretensions have been fully verified.
Besides the improvements which have been already mentioned, there is another of considerable moment. Regard has been
had in this edition to the forms of Arabic grammar. Roots
are given and defined as such, and in various minor points,
an effort has been made to render the book subservient to the
study of that language, independently of the Persian. Add to
this, that many medical, rhetorical, botanical and legal terms,
and thepeculiar localsignification of many others, have been supplied, and we are ready for the Editor's assertion, that "from
various and authentic sources he has been enabled to enrich the
present work by the addition of more than thirty-eight thousand
words, Persian and Arabic; also to arrange and suppply nu merous important meanings that had been overlooked, or
purposely omitted, in more than half the words contained in
the second edition."
The confidence of the scholar is further increased by a
knowledge of the fact, that this third edition comes forth with
194