Volume I: General-Purpose Dictionaries / Volume II: Specialized Dictionaries. 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 and its national varieties, including American English, with numerous references to the developments in Europe and elsewhere which have influenced the course of English lexicography.