The 1828 Dictionary sounds like an encyclopedia if all the word definitions are that long.
I haven't looked at all the definitions but here was his take on it:
DEFINITION, n.
- 1. A brief description of a thing by its properties; as a definition of wit or of a circle.
- 2. In logic, the explication of the essence of a thing by its kind and difference.
- 3. In lexicography, an explanation of the signification of a word or term, or of what a word is understood to express.
Cordially,