Confessions of a Bibliophile
I first heard about Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary during one of the preachings way back in Victory U-Belt. I started looking for it in my favorite book haunts, even the second-hand booksellers along Recto. Unfortunately, my searches were in vain and I put my hunt on the shelf (pun intended).  Still, I would browse through the reference section of bookstores every now and then, just in case...

The Gift
A few years ago, a relative based in the USA asked what I would like as a gift.  With (almost) no hesitation, I said I wanted the elusive copy, which was starting to feel like the Holy Grail to me.  It was a happy day indeed for me when I finally held the dictionary for the first time - all 3 kilos, 1,800+ pages and 70,000 entries of it.  It quickly took a prominent place on my bedside table, right next to my Bible and devotional volumes.  In fact, the origins and definitions of some of the words were 'revelations' to me, not surprisingly since the 1828 Dictionary also contains the greatest number of Biblical definitions given in any reference volume.

Let's start from the very beginning...
The insights I got from the 1828 Dictionary had a side-effect: I started listing words  which have origins and/or definitions quite unlike the modern versions.  And after reading The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, I decided to 'publish' words which I think need another look so we can say what we mean and really mean what we say:

adopt
L. adopto, of ad and opto, to desire or choose

advert
L. adverto, of ad and verto, to turn

advocate
L. advocatus, from advoco, to call for, to plead for; of ad and voco, to call

amateur
L. anator, a lover, from amo, to love
A person attached to a particular pursuit, study or science, as to music or painting; one who has a taste for the arts.

ambition
L. ambitio, from ambio, to go about, or to seek by making interest, of amb, about, and eo, to go. This word had its origin in the practice of Roman candidates for office, who went about the city to solicit vote.

amuse
Fr. amuser, to stop or keep at bay, to detain; from muser, to loiter or trifle; It. musare, to gaze or stand idle

android
Gr. man and form
A machine, in the human form, which, by certain springs, performs some of the natural motions of a living man. One of these machines, invented by M. Vaucanson, appeared at Paris is 1738, representing a flute player.

anger
L. ango, to choke strangle, vex; whence angor, vexation, anguish, the quinsy, angina. Gr. to strangle, to strain or draw together to vex. The primary sense is to press, squeeze, make narrow

anime
n. In heraldry, a term denoting that the eyes of a rapacious animal are borne of a different tincture from the animal himself.
n. A resin exuding from the stem of a large American tree called by the natives courbaril; by Piso, jetaiba. It is of a transparent amber color, a light agreeable smell, and of little or no taste. It dissolves entirely, but not readily, in rectified spirit of wine, and is used by the Brazilians in fumigations, for pains proceeding from cold.

annoy
L. neceo, to hurt, that is, to strike; neco, to kill

answer
Sax. andswarian, of anti, against, and Goth swaran, to swear.  The primitive sense of 'swear' was merely to speak or affirm.  The sense of 'answer' is an opposite, a returned word or speech.

assets
L. sat, satis, enough; Ir. sath, sufficiency; sasadh, satisfaction
Goods or estate of a deceased person, sufficient to pay the debts of the deceased. But the word 'sufficient', though expressing the original signification of 'assets', is not with us necessary to the definition. In present usage, assets are the money, goods or estate of a deceased person, subject by law to the payment of his debts and legacies.

astringent
L. astringo, of ad and stringo, to bind fast, to strain
a. binding; contracting; strengthening; opposed to laxative.
n. a medicine which binds or contracts the parts of the body to which it is applied, restrains profuse discharges, coagulates animal fluids, condenses and strengthens the solids.

asylum
Gr. asylum, safe from spoil

athlete
L. athleta, a wrestler; from athlos, strife, contest.
A contender for victory

attorney
Norm. attournon, from tour, tourn, turn, change. One who takes the place or turn of another.