The task of the Commission is to produce the first comprehensive scholarly dictionary of ancient Latin from the earliest times down to AD 600. The work is based on an archive of about 10 million slips which takes account of all surviving texts. The older texts have one slip for each occurrence of each word; the later ones are generally covered by a selection of lexicographically relevant examples. Nowadays this material is supplemented, where appropriate, by the use of modern databanks. The dictionary articles result from a critical inspection and interpretation of this material. They allow the user to follow the development of meaning and usage in each word. Publication is in separate fascicles; during 2009 it will reach the end of the letter P, at which point more than two thirds of the complete work will have appeared in the printed version and also (on the initiative of the publishers) in electronic form.
The Thesaurus linguae Latinae is staffed by about 20 Latinists, both German and non-German. Among them are holders of scholarships, who work at the Thesaurus for a limited period as part of their academic training. The archive and the unique library, enriched by countless annotations, are consulted by scholars from the whole world. Since 1949 the Thesaurus has been an international project, in which at present more than 30 academies and learned societies from three continents participate. Most of the financial support continues to come from the German Akademienprogramm.
A box of dictionary slips with excerpts for the word "non".