High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Joseph Emerson Worcester (August 24, 1784–October 27, 1865) was an American lexicographer and chief competitor of Webster`s Dictionary in the mid-nineteenth-century. Their rivalry became known as the "dictionary wars". Worcester`s dictionaries focused on traditional pronunciation and spelling, unlike Noah Webster`s attempts to Americanize words. Worcester was respected by American writers and his dictionary maintained a strong hold on the American marketplace until a later, posthumous version of Webster`s book appeared in 1864. Worcester died a year later, effectively ending the war.