 This means the dictionary provides sufficient vocabulary for the generally literate reader while fulfilling its aim to be "at once portable and inexpensive and at the same time sufficiently large".However, Mathews bases some of his definitions on Herbert A. Giles' "Chinese-English Dictionary" (1892; revised and enlarged 1912) without acknowledgment.Owing to these advantages, the Harvard–Yenching Institute selected Mathews' dictionary as one of two "practical dictionaries" to revise and reprint in 1943 for "the immediate demands of American students".