Wordorigins.org

American Dictionary of the English Language; Webster, Noah; 1828; reprinted in two volumes by Johnson Reprint, 1970.

The publication of this dictionary was the seminal event in defining and standardizing the American dialect. While the study of the language has come a long way since Webster’s day, this work remains important as a snapshot description of American English in the opening decades of the nineteenth century. Note that the term “Webster’s” is not trademarked and is meaningless as a reference to modern dictionaries.