Thesaurus Day

Thesaurus Day is an American holiday dedicated to the thesaurus. This wonderful collection of various terms will allow you to better know your native language, as well as become more erudite and expand your horizons. It is annually on January 18.

History

The history of thesauri dates back centuries. One of the earliest works suitable for modern thesauri requirements is “Amara-kosha” in Sanskrit, created in the 6th century. The style of presentation is poetic.

Historians consider the first modern thesaurus to be the one created by the Englishman Peter Mark Roget in 1805. The first publication was made only in 1852, but since then, it has been produced in its original form without reprints.

In the second half of the 20th century, as computerization progressed rapidly, thesauri began to be used for tasks involving the search and analysis of information. Today, they are used in artificial intelligence. Thesauri differ from classical dictionaries in that they provide not only a complete definition of a term but also several similar definitions that reflect its essence.

Interesting facts

• Microsoft Word has its own thesaurus for word processing.
• In psychology, the term “thesaurus” characterizes the characteristics of an individual’s perception of information.
• A thesaurus is not a synonym for the word dictionary. It focuses on narrower terms, while a dictionary is a list of any words.

How to celebrate

Spend a few hours studying a modern thesaurus on Thesaurus Day to enrich your knowledge with new words. You can also search for versions of old thesauri to learn what they were like in antiquity.

Share information about the holiday on social networks. Discuss with other users what new words you have learned. Perhaps you were surprised by the significance of some of them.

When is Thesaurus Day in 2025?

Thesaurus Day is observed on January 18 each year.

Observations