Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon

A huge, uncomfortable and heavy (never actually weighed it, but I estimate it's weight by at least 7 pounds) blue book (usually comes in a blueish-grey wrapping), published by the Oxford University Press.

Contains all the words in the ancient Greek language that modern research knows the meaning of, including conjugation and declension info (particularly to irregular nouns, verbs and adjectives, but usually also for regular ones), and some etymological info, as well as many references to proper names of persons, places and mythological figuers.

It's considered the best dictionary of Ancient Greek in the English language, possibly the best in any language (though it has stiff competition with two German ones).

As the name suggests, the Lexicon was composed by two reknowned scholars named Liddell and Scott. Though it had many reprints since then, the 7th and latest edition of the Lexicon was published in 1883.

Later editions of the dictionary are actually 'Liddle-Scott-Jones-McKenzie Greek-English Lexicon' and are for the most part less good than the original.

Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon is printed in three editions: abriged, intermediate, and complete--otherwise known as the 'little Liddell', 'middle Liddell', and the 'Great Scott'. The first two of these cognomina are orthophemistically descriptive (the i in Liddell is short; the name's trochaic), and the last is a Classics student's first impression of this great book.

Don't waste your time with any other Greek-English dictionary. The abriged version is fine for most students' needs. The intermediate offers more dialect varients and etymology, but by the time Greek word origins and variations are needed, the Classicist should acquire the full Lexicon. Liddell and Scott was compiled in the 19th century, and often exhibits its Victorian tendencies with frustrating obliqueness. Some words then considered too naughty for rendering into English are glossed in Latin ('What's a membrum viri?'). The ninth edition of the book, published in 1996, supplements some definitions but for better or worse leaves intact most of the roundabout 19th C English (quoth today's budding Hellenist: "Greek, Latin, German, French, and Italian aren't enough; I have to learn English, too?).

Editor Henry Liddell was the father of Alice Liddell, a name familiar to fans of Lewis Carroll as the young model for Alice in Wonderland.