Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials (Irish Edition)

First projected by the Irish Archaeological Society in 1852, work on the Dictionary of the Irish Language was initiated by the foremost Irish scholars of the time, John O'Donovan and Eugene O'Curry. Unfortunately, both were dead by 1862, but before his death O'Donovan had outlined how the dictionary should be based on a thorough excerpting of older Irish manuscripts. The meanings of words were to be supported by citations. Etymology was not to be attempted apart from derivation within Irish itself and the giving of sources of loan words. These directions have been adhered to in the work as eventually compiled. From 1852 onwards, work was slowly progressed by numerous scholars and it was only in 1913 that the first fasciculus of the Academy's Dictionary of the Irish Language was published. By 1976 all 24 parts of the dictionary were finally completed, running to over 2,500 pages. In 1983, because of the difficulty in keeping the individual fascicles in print, and to facilitate handling, this compact edition was published. It contains all 24 parts photographically reduced into a handsome single volume.