first and fourth parts correspond to the eleventh section of such works as Nika--u-c‡-ƒma-i; the second part answers to their first ten sections; and the third comprises the matter in the 12th section. Thus it will be seen that Caturakarƒti is an index-treatment of all the special features of the nika--u works. This was the first dictionary which bore the name of  akarƒti as its title. 

This dictionary was revised, from time to time, by several well-known scholars of the last century.  The second section alone (Porul Akarƒti) was first published by Mr. Ellis in 1819 with the help of Tiru-c-ciŠŠambala Aiyer. In 1824, by Mr. Richard Clarke, Director of the College at Madras, the whole akarƒti was published under the superyision of Tƒ-davarƒya Mudaliyƒr and Rƒmachandra Kavirƒyar, who revised the man script and added a supplement to each of the four sections. A second edition of this work was brought out in 1835 by the Rev. J. Smith of this London Missionary Society; and in this, the supplement were incorporated in their respective divisions. About 12,400 words are treated in the original Catur-akarƒti did not contain so many words. In these editions, the several meanings of a word are arranged in alphabetical order; but the manuscripts do not support this arrangement.

Beschi's lexicographical activity included aslo a Tamil-Latin Dictionary of 9,000 words (about 1742 A. D.), a Tamil-French Dictionary (1744 A.D.) and a Portugues-Latin-Tamil Dictionary. A Latin-Tamil Dictionary  is attributed to him by his Tamil biogrpher, Muthuswami Pillai, and a Tamil-English Dictionary  by Beschi is mentioned in the preface to his  V„diyar-o‰ukkam. A dictionary of the common dialect (Tamil) is also ascribed to him.1 The last three books are not, however, available to us. The popularity of Catur-akarƒti is  evidenced by the large number and wide provenance of cadjan manuscripts of this work. Some of these must have added considerably to the original vocabulary. For in a manuscript, dated Kollam 1007 (i.e., 1832 A. D.) and mentioned to have been copied from an earlier one, the number of words in the peyar section is  about 12,000.

FABRICIUS'S TAMIL-ENGLISH DICTIONARY 

Forty-seven years after the compilation of Catur-akarƒti, i.e., in 1779, was published the first Tamil-English Dictionary that is now available to us. It was prepared by the German Lutheran missionaries, Johann Philip Fabricius and John Christian Breithaupt, when the former was in jail for debts contraced by standing surety for other people. This dictionary enabled him to discharge his liabilities. It was dedicated to the Honorable the Court of Directors of the English East India Company; and it was intended for foreigners, especially missionaries and traders in daily use. Asterisks were used as 'the sign of Grandam words become usual in the Malabar language.' The total number of words was about 9000, a good collection of idiomatic phrases being included under these words. The work formed a quarto

¹ Father Beschi of the society of Jesus, His times and His writings, p.225.