Websterisms : A Collection of Words and Definitions Set Forth by the Founding Father of American English, Paperback by Schulman, Arthur (COM); Lepore, Jill (INT), ISBN 1416577017, ISBN-13 9781416577010, Brand New, Free shipping in the US Traces the efforts of curmudgeon and patriot Noah Webster to define the American language by preparing a complete lexicon of terms and definitions in the early 1800s, an effort that reflected his passion for words and paradoxical ideas about language and politics. 40,000 first printing.