The first known woman lexicographer was the Abbess Herrad in the 12th century, while the first in English appears to have been Sam Johnson's friend Mrs Hester Thrale or Piozzi (with her British Synonymy in 1794). There were never many, right into our own century, but nowadays it is no longer unusual to find women in controlling positions in the world of lexicography. Tom McArthur interviews two such women among the words: ELIZABETH KIRKPATRICK, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and DELLA SUMMERS in Harlow, England.