Unless they are writers or students, few Americans are familiar with a thesaurus. The best known thesaurus and the one most often sold is a version of Roget's Thesarus. The original dates back to 1852 and modern versions continue the tradition of providing antonyms and synonyms for common words.

Who Was Roget?

Peter Mark Roget was an English doctor who enjoyed words. As a hobby, Dr. Roget made lists of similar words and word groups. Born in 1779, Roget began compiling his lists of words that were synonyms - words like sick, ill, unwell - and lists of antonyms, words such as healthy and well. He grouped words into a thousand different categories using each word he knew or could find in dictionaries.

His compiled works were first published in 1852 as Roget's Thesaurus. Thesaurus means "treasury" so the volume was intended as a treasury of words. Today's editions are far larger and include many more words than the original but the purpose is the same. Each edition is brought up to date. Obsolete words that appeared in earlier issues are removed and current words added. The first revision was undertaken by Dr. Roget's son and each year editors update the thesaurus.

Using The Thesaurus

Words buffs will enjoy flipping through the pages and reading entries but the practical use of the thesaurus comes into play for students and writers.

Begin by looking up a word. Roget's Thesaurus is arranged in alphabetical order like a standard dictionary but instead of a definition, users find a list of words that are synonyms or share the same meaning. After the entry of like meaning words, antonyms or words meaning the opposite are listed. Each entry also includes a notation if the word is a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb

Roget's Thesaurus includes a small section following the main alphabetical entries of foreign phrases with translations. The last section of the volume lists Roget's original categories in numerical order.

Using Roget's Thesaurus is simple and can help anyone using words to broaden their options.