Historisk lexikografi i praktiken. Om momentordningen i SAOB

Resumé

The Swedish Academy Dictionary (SAOB) aims to describe the historical
development of Swedish language from 1521 to the present. The first volume was
published in 1898, and the latest in 2005, ending with the word tojs. During this time
semantic theory as well as lexicographical practice has changed and changes have
been made in SAOB, but in all essentials we still follow the lines of direction laid
out in the beginning. In this paper I focus on the presentation order in SAOB.
Principles of choosing first meaning are discussed, especially the principle of
choosing as first meaning the one which corresponds closest to the original one
according to the etymology of the word, as opposed to the first one according to the
chronology of quotations. Logical versus chronological presentation order of
meanings in historical dictionaries is also discussed. In SAOB the first meaning is
chosen according to the etymological principle, and the following meanings are
primarily presented according to the tradition of logical development of meanings.
However, the chronology of the quotations is also taken into consideration. Equally,
although we do not embrace the views of natural hierarchy held by our predecessors,
we continue to use their presentation order of homographs (male before female
before neuter, for example) for practical reasons and reasons of continuity.