Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A reference book containing an alphabetical list of words, with information given for each word, usually including meaning, pronunciation, and etymology.
- n. A book listing the words of a language with translations into another language.
- n. A book listing words or other linguistic items in a particular category or subject with specialized information about them: a medical dictionary.
- n. Computer Science A list of words stored in machine-readable form for reference, as by spelling-checking software.
- n. Computer Science An electronic spelling checker.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A book containing either all or the principal words of a language, or words of one or more specified classes, arranged in a stated order, usually alphabetical, with definitions or explanations of their meanings and other information concerning them, expressed either in the same or in another language; a word-book; a lexicon; a vocabulary: as, an English dictionary; a Greek and Latin dictionary; a French-English or an English-French dictionary. In the original and most usual sense a dictionary is chiefly linguistic and literary, containing all the common words of the language with information as to their meanings and uses. In addition to definitions, the larger dictionaries include etymologies, pronunciation, and variations of spelling, together with illustrative citations, more or less explanatory information, etc. Special or technical dictionaries supply information on a single subject or branch of a subject: as, a dictionary of medicine or of mechanics; a biographical dictionary. A dictionary of geography is usually called a gazetteer.
- n. Synonyms Glossary, Lexicon, etc. See vocabulary.
- Pertaining to or contained in a dictionary.
Wiktionary
- n. A reference work with a list of words from one or more languages, normally ordered alphabetically and explaining each word's meaning and sometimes containing information on its etymology, usage, translations, and other data.
- n. computing An associative array, a data structure where each value is referenced by a particular key, analogous to words and definitions in a physical dictionary.
- v. transitive To look up in a dictionary
- v. transitive To add to a dictionary
- v. intransitive To appear in a dictionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A book containing the words of a language, arranged alphabetically, with explanations of their meanings; a lexicon; a vocabulary; a wordbook.
- n. Hence, a book containing the words belonging to any system or province of knowledge, arranged alphabetically
WordNet 3.0
- n. a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with information about them
Etymologies
- Medieval Latin dictionarium, from Latin dictionarius, from dictio ("speaking"), from dictus, perfect past participle of dīcō ("speak") + -arium ("room, place"). (Wiktionary)
- Medieval Latin dictiōnārium, from Latin dictiō, dictiōn-, diction; see diction. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Creating a new dictionaryThe newly completed dictionary is a research tool that will help advance those studies because - as Gil Stein points out - it goes well beyond what the word dictionary might imply.”
Voice of America: Dictionary of Akkadian Language Links Modern Civilization with Ancient Origins
“I noticed that Lach, in the dictionary translates as to be counted.”
“The idea of a Slang dictionary is in many ways counterintuitive - or, one might say, a bit bonkers.”
“The term dictionary entry includes all vocabulary entries as well as all boldface entries in the separate sections of the back matter headed”
“This dictionary is awful to the point of worthlessness.”
Arabic Practical Dictionary: Arabic-English English-Arabic « Books « Literacy News
“In the event of a dispute, a dictionary is the final arbiter (in the UK it is based on the Collins dictionary).”
“This dictionary is a really good one, just one thing is missing – pronunciation, i.e. transcription …”
English-Russian, Russian-English Dictionary « Books « Literacy News
“Bean-Mom, adding my name to the dictionary is the first thing I do on any new computer!”
“Well, you know, the dictionary is a great read and the telephone book can be a great read.”
“You could say that publishing a dictionary is a sign that a language has emerged -- that dictionaries are symptoms of language.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘dictionary’.
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Visuals
A list of words which yield surprising, beautiful, amusing, or otherwise noteworthy images here on Wordnik.
photochrom, fufluns, thank you, cool l..., postcard, picture postcard, cricket, physiological ill..., Gakuryū Ishii, ametropia, One Froggy Evening, rhodopsin, Santiago Calatrava and 636 more...
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Language
word, sentence, novel, book, novella, vignette, memoir, anthology, paragraph, stanza, poem, haiku and 123 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Ar!
ar, Ar, argon, are, area, arf, arc, ark, aardwolf, aardvark, aardcucumber, yardarm and 253 more...
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TECH - web application frameworks
object-oriented p..., ALGOL, validation, Erlang, markup language, Python, hibernate, framework, Apache, template, mapper, Java and 310 more...
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dict-
of or relating to speech
dictation, dictionary, dictaphone, dicta, dictum, dictagraph, dictate, dictatorial, dictator, dictatorship, diction, dictating and 4 more...
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Word Words
Words that describe other words
adverb, verb, noun, adjective, pronoun, Synonym, antonym, phrase, dictionary, grammar, word, passage and 19 more...
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Dictionary words
Words from the names of various dictionaries.
dictionary, college, heritage, Webster's, American, rhyming, compendious, English, language, Oxford, new, Wordnik and 56 more...
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Words of the day
The list of Wordnik words of the day.
panurgic, chapfallen, billingsgate, latration, witticaster, slitheroo, rux, crotchet, mirliton, arenose, ruelle, jane-of-apes and 76 more...
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writing first chapter
revolve, vital, necessity, depict, archery, indegenous, native, lacrosse, similarly, recess, composition, indicator and 91 more...
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Library Reference Desk Words
computer, reference, desk, phone, im, chat, e-mail, catalog, citation, style, transfer, number and 133 more...
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Odd Anagrams
Sets of anagrams that have contrasting or related meanings.
casual, causal, parental, paternal, prenatal, atoners, senator, treason, listen, silent, dictionary, indicatory and 110 more...
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kat's words
ecumenical, cacophony, clatter, marimba, bamboo, saffron, slice, mercurial, pomegranate, cranky, slipshod, scritch and 511 more...
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inkhorn's Words
inkhorn, aplomb, apotheosis, asinine, avatar, bombastic, boorish, bromide, bucolic, cagey, canvass, digress and 991 more...
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colleen's words
yellow, green, pie, blue, fur, people, incense, book, brown, avuncular, mountain, fog and 1316 more...
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ff
attribute, sticking, distinct, perseverance, trend, clarify, avoidant, ambivalent, disoriented, cling, prompting, appositive and 94 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for dictionary.
sniggas666 Lexicography is a science of making dictionaries.
Nov 15, 2009
grant_barrett This word was chosen as Wordnik word of the day. Nov 11, 2009
chained_bear A fine usage right here. Sep 1, 2009
dontcry And I was just going to do a quick wordie check and start cleaning my house.... Hmmmmm. Where to begin? I think I'll start with l*:slacker.
BTW: Look at the word of the day today on OneLook! Feb 27, 2009
bilby Thanks pterodactyl, I wasn't aware of the tool you mentioned. I'm keen to check it out ... there goes the weekend! Feb 27, 2009
reesetee Ditto, ptero. I now use OneLook more than any of the other online dictionaries. Feb 27, 2009
pterodactyl My favorite online dictionary, OneLook, offers not only wildcards but also a "search by meaning" tool (the colon). For example, if you wanted to find words that start with M and mean "smooth", you could go to OneLook and type in "m*:smooth". It's useful not only for finding spellings but also for finding words you don't know.
I first discovered OneLook by way of Wordie, so let me just pause and say a hearty "Thanks, John!". Feb 27, 2009
myth Oooh! Bonus points for using the word maunderings. I like finding examples of words that you won't find in thesauruses even though their synonyms are listed. Feb 27, 2009
sionnach I've always admired bilby's mollifluous maunderings. Feb 27, 2009
bilby Some online dictionaries offer wildcard searches. So if you think mellifluous is spelled a certain way you can type in mal* and see what happens. The results show maliciousness then malign so it's clear it doesn't start with mal-. Then you'd try mel* (as it's the only other vowel that sounds about right) and you'd be on your way. Feb 27, 2009
rolig Very funny, Fox. Maybe s/he was being facetious, but I suspect the latter. Feb 27, 2009
Prolagus siulahior! Feb 27, 2009
sionnach Mnthkeis Tatbbby was bnieg ftoiuaces (ro otssnettulaioy spiutd). Tugohh I msut csnoefs to hinvag gaert dfulticfeis tirnyg to fnid the Dierow Wrdoie Roidew Drowie Weirdo Oridew Edwiro Owired Iwdero stie ervey mite I loogn. Feb 26, 2009
Prolagus Website idea: ditchonary.net? Feb 26, 2009
rolig TBT, you would probably have some idea about how the word is spelled, wouldn't you? Often the problematic part of the word comes in the middle or the end (e.g. -able or -ible, -ant or -ent), so you know enough to look the word up and discover the correct spelling. If the word starts in a quirky way, like the name of our friend pterodactyl, then you might indeed be stumped, but after a while you may even start recognizing some of these deceptive spellings, and know that if the word isn't spelled one way then it is probably spelled another way. Most people, I suspect, use dictionaries to confirm or correct spellings they think they know. Feb 26, 2009
tbtabby I never understood why a dictionary is considered good for learning the correct way to spell a word. If I don't know how the word is spelled, how can I look it up in the dictionary? Feb 26, 2009
Prolagus Oh, wow! Feb 26, 2009
reesetee Like Wordie, but with photos. :-) Feb 26, 2009
jennarenn dictionary.com now has *free* auditory pronunciation. I'm not too dismayed to learn that I've been mispronouncing the s-word. Oct 11, 2008
chained_bear The Onion Historical Archives has an article about this. Oct 7, 2008
cricket I like looking up "dictionary" in dictionaries and seeing how the definitions of themselves vary Feb 26, 2008
jennarenn Ho. Lee. Cow. Jan 22, 2008
uselessness Derren Brown memorized the dictionary. Jan 21, 2008
inkhorn Another fun fact:
Modern English is rooted almost equally in Latin, French and Germanic. The percentages, provided by Oxford Dictionaries, are below:
Latin, including modern scientific and technical Latin: 28.24%
French, including Old French and early Anglo-French: 28.3%
Old and Middle English, Old Norse, and Dutch: 25%
Greek: 5.32%
No etymology given: 4.03%
Derived from proper names: 3.28%
All other languages contributed less than 1% Dec 19, 2006
inkhorn Fun Fact about English:
There are somewhere between 450,000 and 600,000 unique words in the various English dictionaries (OED, MW). Dec 19, 2006