Into the Work: Second Week

As the title explains, the second week of work on the Johnson's Dictionary Online Project has been time to begin the work in earnest. I have been able to concentrate proofing rather than preparatory tasks, such as consumed the beginning days -- days of application not preparation.

This puts me in mind of two words I inspected this week: "dial-plate" and "dialist." Contemporary readers would likely consider these words odd indeed. To the eighteenth century Englishman, "dial-plates" and "dialist[s]" were part of the times' greatest scientific and technological advances. By this, I make reference to John Harrison, a contemporary of Johnson, and his marine chronometers. Space constraints prevent a thorough history of these time-keeping marvels but suffice it to say that they were of immense importance in their day and to ours. Without Harrison's contribution to time-keeping, mankind would still be floundering in the oceans to discover their longitude at sea. Latitude is relatively easy to determine at sea with simple instruments and a seaman's knowledge. Not so with longitude. Before satellites and GPS, being able to maintain accurate time aboard ship was absolutely critical in finding one's longitude. By accurately maintaining the local time of the ship's launch port and the local time, while aboard ship, the two times can be used to calculate longitude. Accurate time-keeping is taken for granted today, but in Johnson's day accurately setting and keeping of time was practically unknown.

One may well ask what longitude and chronometers have to do with the two words cited earlier. They are alike in that the earlier words are horological terms -- clockmaking words. Johnson writes that a "dial-plate" is, "That on which hours or lines are marked." In current terms -- a clock-face. Though today, the idea of a clock-face with hour markings has rather sadly become as foreign to modern imaginations as "dial-plate" and "dialist" are. As some have probably already guessed, a "dialist" is one who makes dials (particularly sundials). A "dial-plate" maker then would be a kind or form of "dialist."

International shipping and navigation on the world's oceans is such an integral part of modern life and the supplying the commodities that sustain life, little thought is given to what efforts were made and even lives lost to make safe the seas. In like manner, accurate clocks (every smartphone has one or more) are taken for granted, though for thousands of years before our extremely limited modern era, most people considered time in broad terms; often limited to sunrising, noontide and sunsetting. 

Yet again, lexicography and history have joined hands to lend us a perspective that is interesting and informative, but more importantly engenders further reasons to be grateful to our forbears. Forbears that prepared and applied their knowledge and time, from whom we enjoy so many blessings today.

For those who would like to know more about the Harrison timekeepers and early chronometers, I have added a link on the right to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. I also recommend Dava Sobel's excellent small volume Longitude as a good place to begin exploring the world of accurate clockmaking. 

Until next time.

John