Dictionaries are complex, many-layered works: not only are they shaped by the cultural discourses of their time; they also actively shape the ways in which we perceive the world. Tracing a historical journey from eighteenth-century Europe to the present day, the contributions in this volume examine a rich variety of English and Romance dictionaries. Whether monolingual or bilingual, general-purpose or specialised, dictionaries emerge as indispensable components of the dominant discourses that we so often take for granted. This book sheds light on how dictionaries acquired this influential role.

Contributors are: Anna Anselmo, Marinela Burada, Daniele Franceschi, Martina Guzzetti, Reinhard Heuberger, Gabriela Kompatscher, Hugo E. Lombardini, Elisabeta Lonati, Natalia Peñín Fernández, Raluca Sinu, and Ruxandra Vișan