Around 1650, some English speakers and writers began to believe that the language needed
a definite set of rules for grammar and spelling. They saw how rapidly the language was expanding, and
they worried that communication would suffer
if people continued to speak and write English without a common standard.
England considered establishing an academy to regulate its language, as France and Italy had done, but eventually abandoned this idea. However, a number of 18th-century writers attempted to draw up rules for "correct English." They did settle some questions of grammar, and the passage of time settled others. We are still using words such as "workmanship," "furthermore," "cartoon," and "publicity"--even though some scholars disliked them at the time!
Also in this period, Dr. Samuel Johnson published his famous Dictionary of the English Language, a two-volume work of some 40,000 words, with definitions and illustrations. It helped to give shape to English vocabulary and was considered the authority for at least a century.