Rogets International Thesaurus

Rogets International Thesaurus - Barbara Ann Kipfer

Roget's Thesaurus is a widely used English-language thesaurus, created in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget (1779–1869), British physician, natural theologian and lexicographer. It was released to the public on 29 April 1852.[1] The original edition had 15,000 words, and each new edition has been larger.[2] Roget was inspired by the Utilitarian teachings of Jeremy Bentham and wished to help "those who are painfully groping their way and struggling with the difficulties of composition [...] this work processes to hold out a helping hand".[3] The Karpeles Library Museum houses the original manuscript in its collection.[2]

The name "Roget" is trademarked in parts of the world, such as the United Kingdom.[4] By itself, it is not protected in the United States, where use of the name "Roget" in the title of a thesaurus does not necessarily indicate any relationship to Roget directly; it has come to be seen as a generic thesaurus name.[5] With its hegemonic status, it became "a mark of civility". J.M. Barrie stated "[Captain Hook] is not wholly evil [h]e has a Thesaurus in his cabin".[3] Indeed, Sylvia Plath considered it her desert island book over the Bible.[3]

Roget described his thesaurus in the foreword to the first edition: