National Thesaurus Day is a holiday that’s observed every year on January 18th and honors the man who put together Roget’s Thesaurus. Peter Mark Roget was a British physician, lexicographer, and founding secretary of The Portico Library. In 1852, he published the Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. And this is why this holiday celebrates the date of his birth in 1779. Anyone who considers themselves a word fanatic might want to try celebrating this holiday when it comes around.
When is National Thesaurus Day?
This year (2023)January 18 (Wednesday)Next year (2024)January 18 (Thursday)Last year (2022)January 18 (Tuesday)
The History Of National Thesaurus Day
Although we don’t know who started this holiday, we do know that this day was started to commemorate the birthday of Peter Mark Roget. This man was born on January 18, 1779, in Soho, London, and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He graduated in 1798. He would retire from professional life in 1840 and in 1852 he would publish the Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. Roget would die on September 12, 1869, at the age of 90-years old in West Malvern, England.
Fun Thesaurus & Word Facts
Since we’re talking about this holiday, we thought that we would dig up some interesting facts about the thesaurus and about words in the English language. So let’s not waste any more time and jump right into the following fast facts.
Thesaurus comes from the Greek word thesauros-a word that means “treasure.”
The plural of thesaurus is thesauri or thesauruses.
Early French thesauruses were actually dictionaries.
Peter Mark Roget wrote the first modern thesaurus.
The infinity sign, a sideways “8” is known as a Lemniscate.
The longest word found in a modern dictionary is 45 letters long.
One single piece of confetti is known as a confetto.
Clint Eastwood is an anagram of the phrase Old West Action.
Walrus comes from the Old English word “horschwael.” This word translates to horse whale.
Penguin comes from the combination of two Welsh words: Pen which means head and Gwyn which means white.
Nudiustertian is a word that means the day before yesterday.
The opposite of deja vu is jamais vu-a feeling that something familiar feels foreign.
John Milton invented the word Pandemonium for the capital of hell in his epic poem Paradise Lost.
Apron used to be spelled “Napron” in the 14th century. Eventually, it lost its “n.”
A qualtagh is the first person you see after you leave your home.
Alligator came from the Spanish words “el Lagarto.” This phrase means “The Lizard.”
Goodbye comes from the 16th-century word “Godbwye,” which was shorthand for “God Be With Ye.”
In 2011, the words “FYI,” “LOL,” and “OMG” were added to the dictionary.
In 2021, the words “Cancel Culture,” Long-Hauler,” and “Gig Worker” were officially added to the dictionary.
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