Freytag, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich
FREYTAG, GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH (1788-1861), German philologist, was born at Lüneburg on the 19th of September 1788. After attending school he entered the university of Göttingen as a student of philology and theology; here from 1811 to 1813 he acted as a theological tutor, but in the latter year accepted an appointment as sub-librarian at Königsberg. In 1815 he became a chaplain in the Prussian army, and in that capacity visited Paris. On the proclamation of peace he resigned his chaplaincy, and returned to his researches in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, studying at Paris under De Sacy. In 1819 he was appointed to the professorship of oriental languages in the new university of Bonn, and this post he continued to hold until his death on the 16th of November 1861.
Besides a compendium of Hebrew grammar (Kurzgefasste Grammatik der hebräischen Sprache, 1835), and a treatise on Arabic versification (Darstellung der arabischen Verskunst, 1830), he edited two volumes of Arabic songs (Hamasae carmina, 1828-1852) and three of Arabic proverbs (Arabum proverbia, 1838-1843). But his principal work was the laborious and praiseworthy Lexicon Arabico-latinum (Halle, 1830-1837), an abridgment of which was published in 1837.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
