The linking of lemma to gloss in Elyot’s Dictionary (1538)

Dictionary entries comprise two essential parts, the headword (‘lemma’) and the author’s explanation (‘gloss’). This paper addresses the ways in which compilers link these two components (using formulations such as ‘X means Y,’ ‘X is a mammal of the genus Z’). After a survey of medieval practice, the readers’ attention is drawn to the influential and ground-breaking bilingual (Latin–English­) dictionary by Sir Thomas Elyot and the various ways in which he relates headword to gloss.