An Analysis of a 17th Century Conceptual Dictionary with an Alphabetical List of Entries and a Network Definition Structure. John Wilkins’ and William Lloyd’s "An Alphabetical Dictionary" (1668)

This contribution is focused on a 17th-century lexicographic work. Its structural organisation and its theoretical foundations are important for research both in lexicography and in the theories and applications of knowledge organisation. "An Alphabetical Dictionary" is appended to "An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language" by John Wilkins. Its lexical definitions ultimately depend on a hierarchical-relational conceptual scheme contained in the main body of the text. In the overall work the procedures of lexical analysis – used to disambiguate meanings and senses of English words – merge with those developed for defining concepts, which are seen as universally shared. Conceptual definitions are based on a method of analysis and representation that is identified with a classificatory scheme which reflects the organisation of knowledge. Hence, the text under consideration combines lexicographic practice with speculation on the methodology for describing and representing concepts, i.e. knowledge units. This convergence is concretely represented by the interrelation of the two sections of this work. This feature is crucial in Wilkins’ text and is the main object of analysis in the present article. In point of fact, the latter intends to contribute to the studies on the Essay by approaching it from a novel perspective, as the previous literature on this subject is mainly focused on either one or the other of the two components of Wilkins’ conceptual and semantic theory, but which are, however, closely interrelated. In the second section ("Looking up in the 'Alphabetical Dictionary' and the 'Philosophical Tables'") dictionary lemmas are used as examples to describe the method of definition proposed by the author and the mutual relation between the two parts of the Essay, which is also highlighted by direct and indirect cross-references described here. The third part of the article ("The network of semantic relations in the 'Essay'") is devoted to the scrutiny of the semantic and conceptual relations identified by Wilkins as the tools that allow a definition of the units of knowledge gathered in the hierarchical-relational scheme developed in the main body of his text. In the first subsection ("Main distinguishing features"), there is a discussion of the type of relations that the author considers to be functional for defining the concepts ordered in the hierarchical-relational scheme. In the second subsection ("The wider relational network"), two relevant aspects are analysed: first, the method used by the author to organise concepts on the basis of their distinguishing features, so that their distribution in the scheme also enhances their definition; and second, the method developed by Wilkins for disambiguating the meanings and senses of the lexemes indexed in the "Alphabetical Dictionary". The present study aims at contributing to the scrutiny of Wilkins’ work by highlighting its importance both within the English lexicographic tradition and the speculation on conceptual definition and representation, which started within the domain of logic and philosophy and later developed within inter- and cross-disciplinary studies on the organisation of knowledge, a trend still current today.