Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases

"As a boy he stumbled upon a remarkable discovery-that compiling lists of words could provide solace, no matter what misfortunes may befall him."

- Joshua Kendall, The Man Who Made Lists (2008)




Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases (1852) emerged from Roget's obsession with words and lists into a reference that was one of the first of its kind to document synonyms and antonyms for thousands of words. This book was created with six classes and within each, subdivisions and sections. Roget based his system of organization on the work of Aristotle and Liebniz, a German polymath. Roget's goal for the book was to help those struggling to find the right word, hence this 1856 edition is a required addition to the personal library of writers and crossword puzzle enthusiasts alike.