Colonial-Era Spanish Language Resources
The resource list below provides links to digital images of original 18th and early 19th-century dictionaries and Spanish grammar texts, focusing on those that will assist English-speakers in reading and understanding historical documents from the Spanish colonial era, including those that were written in ecclesiastical Latin. In addition, these texts provide an opportunity for even native Spanish-speakers to explore the nuances of linguistic change that have occurred during the past three centuries, most notably in the area of vocabulary, including many words no longer in use. Apart from the searchable index of Spanish-Spanish dictionaries (below), all other texts are freely available on Google Books, with a few from the Biblioteca Digital Hispánica. A wide range of colonial-era book scans are freely available and internally searchable via Google Books; the following links can be used as a starting point for other searches (search settings are for free books in the indicated language dating before 1850): Spanish, English, and French.
Spanish-Spanish Dictionaries / Spanish-English Dictionaries / Spanish Grammar / Spanish Handwriting
Latin Dictionaries / Latin Grammar / French / English / Portuguese
Spanish-Spanish Dictionaries
1611 - Tesoro de la Lengua Castellana, o Española, by Sebastián de Cobarruvias Orozco (selection of Spanish words with meanings and brief discussions of their origins and usage; equivalent to a limited etymological dictionary)
1640 - Tesoro de la Lengua Castellana, o Española, by Sebastián de Cobarruvias Orozco
1673-1674 - Primera Parte / Segunda Parte del Tesoro de la Lengua Castellana, o Española, by Sebastián de Covarrubias Orozco
1726-1739 - Diccionario de Autoridades (fully searchable text-based version of the original official dictionary of Spanish by the Real Academia Española)
1786-1788 - Diccionario Castellano con las Voces de Ciencias y Artes y sus correspondientes en las tres lenguas Francesa, Latina e Italiana, by Esteban de Terreros y Pando.
Volume 1: A-D (1786)
Volume 2: E-O (1787)
Volume 3: P-Z (1788)
1786-1789 - Diccionario Geográfico-Histórico de las Indias Occidentales ó América, by Antonio de Acevedo. Madrid: Imprenta de Manuel González.
Volume 1: A-C (1786)
Volume 2: D-L (1787)
Volume 3: M-O (1788)
Volume 4: P-S (1788)
Volume 5: T-Z (1789)
1726-present - All comprehensive historical Spanish dictionaries are conveniently searchable with digital images of the original pages at the Nuevo Tesoro Lexografico de la Lengua Espanola (click search button at top left, then enter search term in box entitled "Lema")
1780-1829 - Manuscritos para la segunda edición del Diccionario de autoridades (a collection of original manuscripts regarding the creation of the second edition of the Diccionario in the RAE archives)
Spanish-English Dictionaries
1591 - Bibliothecae hispanicae pars altera: containing a dictionarie in Spanish, English, and Latine, by Richard Percyvall (Spanish-English only; with grammar section at end)
1623 - A Dictionary in Spanish and English, by John Minsheu
1706 - A New Spanish and English Dictionary: Collected from the Best Spanish Authors, both Ancient and Modern, by John Stevens
1725 - A Vocabulary, in Six Languages; viz. English, Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, and Portugues, after a New Method to Shew the Dependance of the four last upon the Latin, and their mutual Analogy to each other, by R. John Andree (a limited but multi-lingual comparative glossary)
1726 - A New Dictionary, Spanish and English, and English and Spanish, by John Stephens.
1740 - A New Dictionary, Spanish and English and English and Spanish, by Peter Pineda.
1763 - A Dictionary, Spanish and English, and English and Spanish, by Joseph Giral Delpino.
1778 - A Dictionary: Spanish and English and English and Spanish, by Joseph Baretti (Spanish-English volume only)
1786 - Diccionario Español e Ingles, by Giuseppe Marco Antonio Baretti (Volume 1, Spanish-English only)
1797-1798 - Diccionario Nuevo de las dos Lenguas Española é Inglesa, by Thomas Connelly and Thomas Higgins
(Part 1, Vol. 1, English-English, 1798)
Diccionario Nuevo de las dos Lenguas Española é Inglesa, (Part 1, Vol. 2, Spanish-Spanish, 1798)
Diccionario Nuevo de las dos Lenguas Española é Inglesa, (Part 2, Vol. 1, Spanish-English, 1797)
Diccionario Nuevo de las dos Lenguas Española é Inglesa, (Part 2, Vol. 2, English-Spanish, 1797)
1800 - A Dictionary: Spanish and English, and English and Spanish, by Joseph Baretti (two parts in single-volume)
1802 - A New Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages, by Henry Neuman (Part 1, Spanish-English)
A New Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages, by Henry Neuman (Part 2, English-Spanish)
1803 - Nuevo Diccionario Portatil, Español é Ingles, by C.M. Gattel (Part 1, Spanish-English)
The New Pocket Dictionary of the English and Spanish Languages, by C.M. Gattel (Part 2, English-Spanish)
1809 - A Dictionary: Spanish and English, and English and Spanish, by Joseph Baretti (Vol. 1, Spanish-English)
A Dictionary: Spanish and English, and English and Spanish, by Joseph Baretti (Vol. 2, English-Spanish)
1811 - The First Dictionary of Two Languages under a Single Alphabet / Primer Diccionario de Dos Lenguas Bajo de Un Solo Alfabeto, Ingles y Español, by Felipe Fernández (single volume, single alphabet)
1827 - Diccionario Portátil Español-Ingles, Compuesto Sobre las Ultimas Ediciones de Neuman e Baretti
(two parts in single volume)
1831-1837
Neuman and Baretti's Dictionary of the English and Spanish Languages, revised by Mateo Seoane (Vol. 1, Spanish-English, 1837)
Diccionario de las Lenguas Española é Inglesa de Neuman y Baretti, revised by Mateo Seoane (Vol. 2, English-Spanish, 1831)
1832-1836
Neuman and Baretti's Dictionary of the English and Spanish Languages (Vol. 1, Spanish-English, 1832)
Neuman and Baretti's Dictionary of the English and Spanish Languages (Vol. 2, English-Spanish, 1836)
1838 - A Pocket Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages, Compiled from the Last Improved Editions of Neuman and Barretti (two parts in single volume)
1840 - Diccionario Portátil Español-Ingles, Compuesto Sobre las Ultimas Ediciones de Neuman e Baretti
(two parts in single volume)
1895-1896
Nuevo Diccionario Inglés-Español y Español-Inglés (Vol. 1, Inglés-Español, 1896)
A New Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages (Vol. 2, Spanish-English, 1895)
Diccionario tecnológico inglés-español y español-inglés de los términos y frases usados en las ciencias aplicadas: artes industriales, bellas artes, mecánica, maquinaria, minas, metalurgia, agricultura, comercio, navegacion, manufacturas, arquitectura, ingenieria civil y militar, marina, arte militar, ferro-carriles, telégrafos, &. (Vol. 1, Inglés-Español, 1906).
Technological Dictionary English-Spanish and Spanish-English of words and terms employed in the applied sciences, industrial arts, fine arts, mechanics, machinery, mines, metallurgy, agriculture, commerce, navigation, manufactures, architecture, civil and military engineering, marine, military art, railroads, telegraphs, etc., etc. (Vol. 2, Spanish-English, 1904).
Spanish Grammar / Orthography (in Spanish)
1558 - Gramática Castellana: Arte breve y compendiosa para saber hablar y escrevir en la lengua Castellana congrua y deçentemente, by Christóbal de Villalón
1559 - Gramática de la Lengua Vulgar de España, by Bartholomé Gravio
1609 - Ortografía Castellana, by Mateo Alemán
1614 - Epitome de la Ortografia Latina y Castellana, by Bartolomé Ximénez Patón
1730 - Ortografía Española, by Antonio Bordazar de Artazú
1735 - Reglas de Ortografía en la Lengua Castellana, by Antonio de Lebrija
1744 - Gramática Castellana, by Antonio de Lebrija
1751 - Epitome de la Orthographia Castellana, by Joseph Blasi
1770 - Ortografía de la Lengua Castellana, by the Real Academia Española
1781 - Gramática de Lengua Castellana, by the Real Academia Española
1796 - Grámatica de la Lengua Castellana Dirigida á las Escuelas, by Joseph Pablo Ballot
1799 - Elementos de Gramática Castellana, Ortografía, Calografía, y Urbanidad, para uso de los Discípulos de las Escuelas Pías, by Santiago Delgado de Jesús y María
1817 - Compendio de la Gramática de la Real Academia Española, by Juan Cau y Aner
1823 - Gramática de la Lengua Castellana, y Reducida a Diálogo, by José Garriga
1829 - Lecciones de Gramática Castellana, by J. Herrera A. Alvear
1837 - Gramática Elemental de la Lengua Española, by Pascual Polo
Spanish Grammar / Orthography (in English)
1725 - A New Spanish Grammar, by John Stephens
1751 - A Short and Compendious Method for the Learning to Speak, Read, and Write, the English and Spanish Language, by Peter Pineda
1777 - A New Spanish Grammar; or, the Elements of the Spanish Language, by Joseph Giral del Pino
1792 - A New Spanish Grammar, or The Elements of the Spanish Language, by Raymundo del Puego
1810 - A new, easy, and complete grammar of the Spanish language, Commercial and Military, by John Emmanuel Mordente
1822 - A Grammar of the Spanish Language, by Auguste-Louis Josse, revised by Francis Sales
1826 - A New Spanish Grammar, by Mariano Cubi y Soler
1833 - A Grammar of the Spanish Language, by José de Alcalá
1841 - A New and Improved Spanish Grammar, by Luís Josef Antonio McHenry
1844 - A Complete Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Spanish Language, by Emanuel del Mar
1848 - A First Book in Spanish; or, A Practical Introduction to the Study of the Spanish Language, by Joseph, by Joseph Salkeld
Spanish Handwriting (in Spanish)
1589 - Libro y Tratado para Enseñar Leer y Escrivir, by Juan de la Cuesta1608 - Arte de Escrevir, by Francisco Lucas
1650 - Primera Parte del Arte de Escrivir Todas Formas de Letras, by Joseph de Casanova
1719 - Arte Nuevo de Escribir por Preceptos Geométricos y Reglas Mathemáticas, by Juan Claudio Aznar de Polanco
1766 - Tratado del Origen, y Arte de Escribir Bien, by Luis de Olod
1776 - Arte Nueva de Escribir, Inventada por el Insigne Maestro Pedro Díaz Morante, by Francisco Xavier de Santiago Palomares
1789 - Arte de Escribir, by Estevan Ximénez
1791 - Compendio del Arte de Escribir por Reglas y sin Muestras, by Joseph de Anduaga y Garimberti
1795 - Arte de Escribir por Reglas y sin Muestras, Establecido de Orden Superior en los Reales Sitios de San Ildefonso yValsian, by Joseph de Anduaga y Garimberti
1798 - Arte de Escribir por Reglas y con Muestras segun la Doctrina de los Mejores Autores Antiguos y Modernos, Estrangeros y Nacionales, by Torquato Torio de la Riva y Herrero
Latin-Spanish Dictionaries
1499 - Vocabularium Ecclesiasticum, by Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella (Latin-Spanish only)1513 - Vocabularius, by Elio Antonio Nebrija (Latin-Spanish and Spanish-Latin)
1550 - Dictionarium Latinohispanicum, et Vice Versa Hispanicolatinum, by Elio Antonio Nebrija (Latin-Spanish and Spanish-Latin)
1556 - Vocabularium Ecclesiasticum, by Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella (Latin-Spanish only)
1556 - Diccionarium Ecclesiasticum, by Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella (Latin-Spanish only)
1572 - Lexicon Ecclesiasticum Latino Hispanicum, by Diego Ximénez Arias (Latin-Spanish only)
1613 - Lexicon Ecclesiasticum Latino Hispanicum, by Diego Ximénez Arias (Latin-Spanish only)
1628 - Thesaurus Verborum, ac Phrasium, ad Orationem ex Hispana Latinam Efficiendam, & Locupletandam, by Bartholomé Bravo (Spanish-Latin only; includes section on Latin Orthography at end)
1644 - Lexicon Ecclesiasticum Latino Hispanicum, by Diego Ximénez Arias (Latin-Spanish only)
1671 - Compendium Latino-Hispanum Utriusque Lingua Veluti Lumen, by Pedro de Salas (Latin-Spanish Only)
1679 - Thesaurus Hispano-Latinus Utriusque Linguae, Verbis et Phrasibus Abundans, by Balthazar Henriquez (Spanish-Latin only)
1714 - Thesaurus Hispano-Latinus, Utriusque Linguae Dives Opum, et Phrasibus Abundans, by Bartolomé Bravo (Spanish-Latin only)
1720 - Lexicon Ecclesiasticum Latino-Hispanicum, by Diego Ximénez Arias (Latin-Spanish only)
1727 - Thesaurus Hispano-Latinus Utriusque Linguae Verbis, et Phrasibus Abundans, by Valeriano Requejo (Spanish-Latin only)
1744 - Vocabularium Seu Lexicon Ecclesiasticum Latino-Hispanicum, by Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella (Latin-Spanish only)
1757 - Thesaurus Hispano-Latinus, Utriusque Linguae Verbis et Phrasibus Abundans, by Bartolomé Bravo (Spanish-Latin only)
1770 - Vocabularium Seu Lexicon Ecclesiasticum Latino-Hispanicum, by Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella (Latin-Spanish only)
1785 - Compendium Latino-Hispanum Utriusque Lingua Veluti Lumen, by Pedro de Salas (Latin-Spanish Only)
1789 - Vocabularium Seu Lexicon Ecclesiasticum Latino-Hispanicum, by Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella (Latin-Spanish only)
1798 - Lexicon Ecclesiasticum Latino-Hispanicum, by Diego Ximénez Arias (Latin-Spanish only)
1822 - Diccionario Universal Español-Latino, by Manuel de Valbuena (Spanish-Latin only)
Latin Grammar / Orthography (in Spanish)
1581 - Nueua y sutil invencion, en seys instrumentos, intitulado juego y exercicio de letras de las serenissimas infantas doña Ysabel y doña Catalina de Austria, by Pedro de Guevara1599 - Libro muy vtil y prouechoso para aprender la latinidad en el cual se pone en practica el modo de construir los autores: con un vocabulario de las partes exteriores y interiores del hombre,, by Miguel Navarro (includes extremely detailed Latin-Spanish dictionary relative to the human body and related topics)
1622 - Declaración de las Reglas que Pertenecen a la Sintaxis, para el uso de los Nombres, y construccion de los Verbos, by Juan de Mendoça y Luna
1646 - Advertencias para mayor noticia de la gramatica, y reduzir al vso y exercicio los preceptos della, by Pedro de Carrera
1672 - Gramatica Muda de Gramatica latina en las aulas de Ortografia y Prosodia, by Manuel Sánchez de Arbustante
1675 - Explicación Facil, Breve, y Elegante de las Quatro Partes de la Gramática, by Santiago de Villafañe de la Payana y Yebra
1600-1700? - Gramática Latina (anonymous manuscript text)
1730 - Ortographía Latina,, by Antonius Bordazar de Artazu
1739 - Nuevo Methodo, de la Construcción, de los Authores Latinos de Prosa, i Verso, de todas las Edades de la Lengua Latina, by Juan Francisco Pastor Abalos y Mendoza
1743 - Suma de Tiempos, y Otros Rudimentos de la Gramática, cono se enseña en las Escuelas de la Compañia de Jesus, con un Abecedario de los Verbos, , by Ignacio de los Valles and Jayme Rufas
1752 - Breve Modo de Aprender Grammática, en Diálogo, by Pedro Antonio Martínez de Cabredo
1769 - Quatro Libros de la Lengua Latina, o Arte de Gramatica, by Pedro Simón Abril
1787 - Gramática Laconica, o Epitome de la Lengua Latina, by Ignacio del Campo
1817 - Esplicacion de Oraciones, Preceptos, y Reglas Pertenecientes a la Gramática Latina, by Juan Francisco de Corcuera
French Colonial Language Resources
1549 - Dictionaire Francoislatin, by Robert Estienne
1606 - Thrésor de la Langue Françoyse, tant Ancienne que Moderne, by Aimar de Ranconnet
1609 - Le Grand Dictionnaire Françoise-Latin, by Jacques du Puys
1611 - A Dictionary of the French and English Tongues, by Randle Cotgrave (French-English only, A-Z)
1673 - A French and English Dictionary, composed by Mr. Randle Cotgrave, with another in English and French, by James Howell (French-English, English-French, A-Z)
1694 - Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (Vol. 1, A-L)
Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (Vol. 2, M-Z)
1694 - Dictionnaire Etymologique ou Origines de la Langue Françoise, by Gilles Ménage and Pierre de Caseneuve
1696 - Le Grand Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (2nd Ed., Vol. 1, A-L)
Le Grand Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (2nd Ed., Vol. 2, M-Z)
1715 - The Royal Dictionary Abridged, in two parts, by Abel Boyer (French-English, English-French)
1718 - Nouveau Dictionnaire de L'Academie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (Vol. 1, A-L)
Nouveau Dictionnaire de L'Academie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (Vol. 2, M-Z)
1727 - Dictionaire Royal: François-Anglois et Anglois-François, by Abel Boyer (Vol. 1, French-English)
Dictionaire Royal: François-Anglois et Anglois-François, by Abel Boyer (Vol. 2, English-French)
1762 - Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (4th Ed., Vol. 1, A-K)
Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (4th Ed., Vol. 2, L-Z)
1765 - Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (New Ed., Vol. 1, A-K)
Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise, by l'Adacemie Françoise (New Ed., Vol. 2, L-Z)
[both volumes searchable from a single page here]
1786-1789
Nouveau Dictionnaire François-Espagnol, by Nicolas de Séjournant (Vol. 1, Spanish French, 1789)
Nouveau Dictionnaire François-Espagnol, by Nicolas de Séjournant (Vol. 2, French-Spanish, 1786)
1992-present - Dictionnaire de l’Académie française, by l'Adacemie Françoise (searchable online edition)
English Colonial Language Resources
1671 - The New World of Words: Or a General English Dictionary, by Edward Phillips (A-Z, 5th Ed.)
1675 - An Universal Etymological English Dictionary, by Nathan Bailey (A-Z, 21st Ed.)
1675 - Dictionarium Minus: A Compendius Dictionary, English-Latin & Latin-English, by Christopher Wase (2nd Ed.)
1677 - A Large Dictionary, in Three Parts, by Thomas Holyoke (English-Latin, Latin-English)
1706 - The New World of Words: Universal English Dictionary, by Edward Phillips and John Kersey (A-Z, 6th Ed.)
1708 - Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum: Or, a General English Dictionary, by John Kersey (A-Z)
1720 - The New World of Words: Universal English Dictionary, by Edward Phillips and John Kersey (A-Z, 7th Ed.)
1730 - Diccionarium Britanicum: or a More Compleat Universal Etymological English Dictionary than any Extant, by Nathan Bailey (A-Z)
1731 - An Universal Etymological English Dictionary, by Nathan Bailey (A-Z, 5th Ed.)
1731 - The Universal Etymological English Dictionary, by Nathan Bailey (Vol. 2, A-Z, 2nd Ed.)
1736 - Diccionarium Britanicum: or a More Compleat Universal Etymological English Dictionary than any Extant, by Nathan Bailey (A-Z, 2nd Ed.)
1756 - A Dictionary of the English Language, by Samuel Johnson (A-K)
1760 - A New General English Dictionary, by Thomas Dyche and William Pardon (A-Z, 11th Ed.)
1760 - A New Complete English Dictionary, by D. Bellamy, Mr. Gordon, etc. (A-Z, 2nd Ed.)
1764 - A New, Complete, and Universal English Dictionary, by Daniel Bellamy (A-Z, 4th Ed.)
1806 - A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, and Expositor of the English Language, by John Walker (A-Z, 2nd American Edition)
Portuguese Colonial Language Resources
1712-1721 - Vocabulario Portuguez, e Latino, by Raphael Bluteau (V. 1, A, Portuguese-Spanish-Latin)
V. 1, A (1712)
V. 2, B-C (1712)
V. 3, D-E (1713)
V. 4, F-I (1713)
V. 5, K-N (1716)
V. 6, O-P (1720)
V. 7, Q-S (1720)
V. 8, T-Z (1721; includes translation dictionary below at end)
1721 - Diccionario Castellano, y Portuguez para facilitar a los curiosos la noticia de la lengua Latina, con el uso del Vocabulario Portuguez, y Latino, by Raphael Bluteau (A-Z, Spanish-Portuguese)
1789 - Diccionario da Lingua Portugueza composto pelo Padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado por Antonio de Moraes Silva natural do Rio de Janeiro, by Antonio de Moraes Silva (Vol. 1, A-K, Vol. 2, K-Z)
1806 - Epitome da Grammatica da Lingua Portugueza, by Antonio de Moraes Silva
1813 - Diccionario da Lungua Portugueza recopilado dos vocabularios impressos ate agora, e nesta segunda edicio novamente emendado, e muito accrescentado, by Antonio de Moraes Silva
1823 - Diccionario da Lingua Portugueza recopilado de todos os impressos ate o presente, by Antonio de Moraes e Silva