The Webster dictionary is well known. It's used at home, in schools and in businesses. It's necessary.

At one time every family wanted a copy of the Webster dictionary. They wanted their children to have what they needed for school. Now the dictionary is on the Internet. The online version is like the book but even better. The Internet comes through again for making our lives better.

Webster dictionary has become a generic name. Many English dictionaries bear the name. A lexicographer named Noah Webster started what has become the Merriam-Webster dictionary. But many companies make dictionaries that have the name Webster.

Noah Webster began as a teacher publishing classroom aids. His first dictionary came in 1806. Many of his methods became standard in the world of dictionaries. For example he used American spellings. For example center instead of centre. The dictionary included words from fields other than literature. Even after publishing it Webster took 20 more years to expand it.

His next dictionary wasn't published until Noah was 70. With two volumes and 70,000 entries it was quite a work. This became the precursor of the Webster dictionary. With many revisions made by Noah's son, a new revision was released in 1840.

The Webster dictionary we know today came into being upon Webster's death. All the name and book rights to Webster were bought by George and Charles Merriam. They hired Noah Webster's son-in-law to oversee revisions. On September 24, 1847 the new revised edition was released. A new addition followed this in 1859. It was illustrated.

They didn't rest with the Webster dictionary. They engaged a Yale professor to assist with another revision. That one came out in 1864. It featured 114,000 entries. It was really the first big overhaul of Noah Webster's original work. It had the word unabridged in the title.

The Webster dictionary really began to cook in 1909. A new international version was released. It had over 400,000 entries and doubled the number of illustrations. It featured a divided page. Seldom used words were printed in tiny print along with their definitions.

Today we use a Kleenex and read the Webster dictionary. But Noah Webster's work still exists.