Whishaw, James, 1808-1879.

Whishaw's New Law Dictionary : (English Law, 1829)

A New Law Dictionary, 1829

A member of Gray's Inn, James Whishaw, presumably noticing the dense, comprehensive abridgment-dictionaries published by Jacob, Cunningham, and Williams, wanted to author a different kind of dictionary. His aim was to publish a dictionary "confined exclusively to the exposition of the common terms and phrases of the law," intending the book to be especially useful for "junior members of the legal profession."

He included French, Latin, and English words and phrases and expanded his focus well beyond law; as indicated in his title, he selected his terms from various "historical and antiquarian" sources. As support for this endeavor, he quotes Lord Bacon on the title page: "For the books of the terms of the law, there is a poor one, but I wish a diligent one, wherein should be comprised not only the exposition of the terms of law, but of the words of all ancient records and precedents."

The dictionary was apparently one of only two published writings for Whishaw, the other being A synopsis of the members of the English bar (1835), a detailed biographical list describing the careers of appointed members. Although not often celebrated and never reprinted, his dictionary enjoyed some success and influenced future dictionary writers, including John Bouvier.

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