Adumbrating word combination: metalexicological description in 18th and 19th century English grammars for native speakers

The gradual transition from a prescriptive approach to a more descriptive one in grammar writing seems to emerge when analysing the treatment of lexical and grammatical words in 18th- and 19th-century English grammar books for native speakers. This essay will show that certain 18th- and 19thcentury grammarians were already sensitive to the fact that the selection and employment of words is determined by both the linguistic and the extra-linguistic environment. Although no precise mention of the term word combination is made in these works, the present study aims to identify some of the metalexicological descriptions that acknowledge that words do not have independent meanings and functions, but are influenced by what precedes or follows them, foreshadowing the lexicological tenets of contemporary linguists.