THE SPELLER AND DEFINER'S MANUAL, CONTAINING A LARGE COLLECTION OF THE MOST USEFUL WORDS IN CORRECTLY SPELLED, PRONOUNCED, DEFINED, AND ARRANGED IN CLASSES. TOGETHER WITH RULES FOR SPELLING, PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES, Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by WILLIAM W. SMITH, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. ELECTROTYPED BY THOMAS 216 William Street, N. Y. PRINTED BY C. A. ALVORD, 29 & 31 Gold St. PREFACE. WORDS are the spoken or written signs of ideas, things, or actions. They are to us what colors are to painters. As with colors the skilful limner produces on the canvas the beautiful form, so by the knowledge and correct use of words, may we delineate our inmost conceptions upon the minds of our hearers. To preserve the purity of the language and to transmit it to posterity uncontaminated, should be the aim of every teacher. This can be done to a certain extent, in a very effective manner, by instructing the youth in the correct spelling, pronunciation, and meaning of all important words. This can hardly be commenced too early. Ordinary transactions of childhood are remembered with all the clearness of recent occurrence, while important events of maturer years have become dim. So with words-for children, as soon as they can talk or read, ascribe some meaning to every word they hear or see; and this knowledge thus acquired exerts its influence during life. How important, then, that the first impress should be the true one. Having this view of the subject, the compiler has endeavored to adapt his work to the capacities of children. It is also designed to aid the teacher in instructing, by suggesting questions and ideas that are very often overlooked amid the anxieties of the schoolroom. As the words are arranged in classes, the knowledge of one necessarily leads to the knowledge of the other. The compiler believes it will be found peculiarly well adapted to home |