A Greek-English Lexicon (LSJ)

About A Greek-English Lexicon (LSJ)

This lexicon was begun in the nineteenth century and ran through nine editions. It was based on the earlier Handwörterbuch der griechischen Sprache by the German lexicographer Franz Passow.

It was edited by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie, and published by the Oxford University Press. It is now conventionally referred to as Liddell and Scott, Liddell–Scott–Jones, or LSJ. Its three sizes are sometimes referred to as "The Little Liddell", "The Middle Liddell" and "The Big Liddell" or "The Great Scott".

The first editor of the LSJ, Henry George Liddell, was Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and the father of Alice Liddell, the eponymous Alice of the writings of Lewis Carroll.

Greek scholars have used these books so much that two short memorable poems have been written to describe the work:

1.

Liddell and Scott, Liddell and Scott:
Some of it's riddle, and some of it's rot.
That which is riddle was written by Liddell,
That which is rot was written by Scott.

2.

Two men wrote a dictionary, Liddell and Scott,
And one half was good, the other was not.
Now tell me the answer, boys, quick, to this riddle:
which was by Scott and which was by Liddell?

Please note that psi (ψ) is achieved on the English keyboard by using 'yu' in the search option.