Thomas Blount

Born in 1618 at Bordesley in Worcestershire, he was an English antiquarian and lexicographer who later had connections with Orleton in Herefordshire. He entered the Inner Temple and was called to the bar, but his Roman Catholic faith seems to have limited his legal career, so much of his energy went instead into scholarship and writing.

He is best remembered for Glossographia (1656), an influential early English dictionary of difficult words that helped make specialist vocabulary more accessible to readers. He also wrote on legal and historical subjects, including Nomolexicon, a dictionary of obscure law terms, and Ancient Tenures of Land and Jocular Customs of Some Manors, showing the same curiosity about language, custom, and the odd corners of English life.

He died in 1679. What makes him especially appealing now is the range of his interests: he was not only defining words, but also preserving the habits, expressions, and traditions that gave them life.