Joseph Emerson Worcester

Worcester and Webster promoted rival approaches to American dictionaries during the 19th-century "Dictionary Wars." Webster favored more distinctly American spellings, while Worcester generally gave greater weight to established British usage and pronunciation.

His major work was "A Dictionary of the English Language," published in 1860. It was a comprehensive dictionary that competed directly with editions produced by the Webster publishing organization.

Worcester prepared an abridgment of Webster's dictionary in the 1820s before producing dictionaries under his own name. Their professional relationship deteriorated as Webster accused him of improperly using material from Webster's work.

The Merriam firm developed Webster's name into a powerful publishing brand after acquiring rights following Noah Webster's death. Worcester's dictionaries remained respected by writers and scholars, but the Webster name ultimately dominated American schools and homes.