| Henry Yule, co-author of Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words, and James A.H. Murray, editor of Oxford University Press's New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, engaged in an unusual collaboration---unusual because of the highly competitive attitude each exhibited toward other dictionary projects; unusual because of the very different aims, scope, and methods of their respective projects; and unusual because of the breadth and depth of the influence that appears to have resulted from their collaboration. Examining a series of letters that explored the origins and meanings of what were then called "Oriental" words and mining the trove of information on Anglo-Indian terms presented in both dictionaries, this thesis describes how and why Henry Yule and his Hobson-Jobson became Murray's pre-eminent source for all things Indian, and shows that Yule's voluminous contributions to the great English dictionary often went unacknowledged. |
