约翰逊词典的不足之处

4.1.3　约翰逊词典的不足之处

毫无疑问，约翰逊词典是英语词典发展史上的一部杰作，但是该词典也有着一些明显的不足之处。首先，有些释义过于随意，甚至是错误的。例如，他把pastern定义为“the knee of a horse”，而实际上应该是“the ankle of a horse”。其次，有些词的释义也没有做到应有的简练、明晰。例如:

network: Anything reticulated or desiccated，with interstices be tween the intersections.

cough: A convulsion of the lungs，vellicated by some sharp serosity.

有时候，约翰逊在释义中加入了个人观点甚至偏见:

excise: A hateful tax levied upon commodities，and adjudged notby the common judges of property，but wretches hired by those to whom excise is paid.

pension: An allowance made to anyone without an equivalent.In England it is generally understood to mean pay given to a state hire ling for treason to his country.

lexicographer: A writer of dictionaries，a harm less drudge.

另外，他的有些书证的体例不统一，出处也不够严格，常常只注作者名而无具体书名、篇章和页码。有的例证显然是凭作者记忆写下的，回忆不起来时，就用“某人曾经用过”搪塞而过，如:

to cream，to take the flower and quintessence of anything: so used somewhere by Swift.

当然，与这部词典的杰出贡献相比，这些不足之处是微不足道的。无论何时，我们都不会忘记约翰逊耗尽毕生精力创作的这部丰碑之作，以及他为英语词典的发展所做出的伟大贡献。