List No. 015

ROGET’S THESAURUS

Peter Roget

1805

Born in 1779, British physician Peter Roget had a somewhat difficult childhood during which he was forced to deal with the deaths of close family members and the mental health problems of others in quick succession – indeed, it’s possible that such a chaotic and challenging upbringing caused his obsession with an activity as neat and ordered as list-making. Around 1800, in part to fend off depression, he began to write the biggest list of all: his now legendary Roget’s Thesaurus, and by 1805 the first draft, entirely handwritten and containing 15,000 words, was complete. It was finally published 47 years later and hasn’t been out of print since. This page, headed “Existence”, was the very first entry of that initial draft.

Existence

End, entity, being, exist.ce Essence, quintess.ce, quidess.ce Nature thing substance course World. fraoue position constitution Reality, (v. truth) actual, exist.ce – fact, course of things, under y sure extant, present Positive, affirmation absolute Intrisduic substantive inherent

Nonentity, nullity, nihility nonexist.ce noth.g nought void, zero, cypher blank empty unsubstantial Unreal, ideal, imaginary visionary, fabulous, fictitious, supposititious absent, shadow: dream phantom, phantasm Negation, virtual, extrinsic Potential. adjective

To be, exist, obtain, stand

pass, subsist, prevail, lie

– on foot, on y tapis

To constitute, form, compose, to consist of

scope, habitude, temperament

State, mode of exist.ce condition, nature, constitut.n habit.

place

Affection, predicament, situate.n posit.n posture contingency

Circumstances, case, plight, trisn, tune, – point, degree

Juncture, conjuncture, pass, emergency, exigency.

Mode, manner, style, cast, fashion, form, shape

strain, way, degree. – tenure, terms, tenor

forting, character, capacity

ship

Relation, affinity, alliance, analogy, filiat.n (v. connect.n)

Reference, about, respect.g, regard.g, concerning, touching

in point of, as to. – pertaining to, belong.g applicable to

relatively, according to.

Comparable, commensurate incomp.ble income.te – ble,

correspondent – able, irricouciliable, disendant

accordant