Questions about English dictionaries
0
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2answers
77 views
List of your first 1000 english words [closed]
I'm looking for a way to teach English vocabulary to my kids. I wanted to have a list of the most useful and common words to know when you start to learn a language.
Is there any website where a list ...
0
votes
3answers
163 views
When could you take the “Urban Dictionary” seriously? [closed]
I have always had a serious problem with Urban Dictionary as I do not know when to take it seriously and when not! Sometimes it seems very useful to me to understand what ordinary people on the ...
0
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0answers
25 views
could you recommend an English dictionary for me? [closed]
English is my second language, and my vocabularies is about 2000-3000. Now, I want to buy an English dictionary. After searching for some hours, Colins, Oxford and Longman will be my choice.
Could ...
0
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0answers
63 views
Where can I find an English dictionary that can be used as reference? [duplicate]
I usually use Google Translate to translate from my language into English and vice versa. But sometimes the translation is not right as words have different meanings depending on context, or maybe the ...
3
votes
3answers
147 views
What part of speech is “methinks”?
Dictionaries call this word a verb, but it doesn't seem to behave like any other verb in the English language. Another question on this site calls it a “conjoined pronoun-verb combination”, which ...
0
votes
1answer
53 views
Why are dictionary definitions for verbs prefixed with a 'To'?
I look up a dictionary for allow and I get
To permit
To assign
To grant or give, esp periodically
To concede or acknowledge
Similarly for flow, I see
to run
to move or change form like a fluid
...
3
votes
0answers
49 views
I am in search of a good dictionary (meanings/definitions) with American IPA pronunciation… Any suggestions? [closed]
I am in search of a good dictionary (meanings, definitions, etymology) with American IPA pronunciation. Any suggestions?
Thank You!
-2
votes
3answers
64 views
Does “to differ” have an antonym? [closed]
The antonym of different is similar. What is the antonym of to differ? I would love it if to similate were a word.
6
votes
3answers
843 views
“Smooths” versus “Smoothes”
I am interested in the rapid rise (since about 1993) in frequency of the spelling smoothes as against smooths.
An Ngram Viewer graph tracking the frequency of usage of the two words from 1800 to ...
1
vote
3answers
139 views
Descent, Ancestry, Lineage
Please help me with the words 'descent', 'ancestry', and 'lineage'. Dictionaries show that they are loosely the same:
1a. He has German descent.
1b. He is of German descent.
2a. He has ...
0
votes
1answer
74 views
Verb for creating an icon
I am having some difficulty wording a title for a paper of mine. I am going for something like, "Automatic text iconification". Which means an automatic method of giving text a symbolic ...
5
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3answers
188 views
Why isn’t “hermeticity” easily found in the dictionaries?
The word hermeticity as (for the lack of better definition, hence the question) “the quality of being hermetic” (not to be confused with mathematical hermiticity, which is also absent from the general ...
0
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0answers
19 views
Which is the definitive reference for the English language [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Regulatory bodies and authoritative dictionaries for English
What are your favorite English language tools?
This should be a reference for word meaning and usage, which ...
5
votes
1answer
307 views
Is it all right to use “in hopes of” to mean “with the aim of”?
Recently I browsed through the definition of hope in New Oxford American Dictionary (provided by Apple in the dictionary app) to double confirm with its usage as I answered a word-choice question and ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
What is best dictionary software which helps me to depend less on SE? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are your favorite English language tools?
Regulatory bodies and authoritative dictionaries for English
While I am surfing through this ELL SE, I have found that ...
1
vote
4answers
144 views
What is the adverbial form of “communicational”?
I tried communicationally, but the Free Dictionary doesn’t find it to be a word.
What I am trying to express is that someone is communicationally challenged, basically meaning they can’t communicate ...
7
votes
4answers
4k views
Syllable division of VCV pattern in words such as “salad” and “lemon”
In words such as salad /sæləd/, you have a VCV pattern (vowel-consonant-vowel), in which the first vowel is short. The syllable division of such words is generally done after the consonant, i.e, as ...
1
vote
0answers
42 views
How are words added to the Oxford Dictionary? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is there an ‘official’ way to suggest a new word become part of the English language?
What are the criteria to adopt new words into English?
Creating a new word
...
1
vote
0answers
38 views
How can you submit a new word for inclusion in a dictionary? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is there an ‘official’ way to suggest a new word become part of the English language?
If I happened to have coined a few words that I find could be of practical value to ...
11
votes
2answers
731 views
How and when did American spelling supersede British spelling in the US?
Considering that Webster published his first dictionary in 1806, is there a recognised tipping point (year, decade, etc.) that marked the move from traditional British spelling to Webster's American? ...
0
votes
3answers
130 views
How can dictionaries be tyrants? [closed]
Sometimes you might hear the phrase, tyranny of the dictionary Is there a way to express succinctly just what that means?
3
votes
2answers
139 views
Is esquivalience now a bona fide word?
Today, I came across WP's entry for the word esquivalience:
"Esquivalience" is a fictitious entry in the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD), which was designed and included to protect copyright ...
3
votes
2answers
194 views
Order of definitions in dictionaries
Are dictionary definitions for words with multiple meanings ordered based on chronology, hierarchy, or frequency of usage? Is/was there a standard format?
4
votes
1answer
77 views
Where does “acutilobate” originate from?
I see the claim that acutilobate is a “dictionary-only” word, for example seen in the 1913 Webster’s dictionary. How would a word get into a dictionary that only appears in dictionaries and is not ...
-3
votes
1answer
111 views
online free dictionary of choice? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are your favorite English language tools?
This may seem like a meta question but I feel it is really about English Language and Usage.
What is the preferred online ...
4
votes
3answers
233 views
What were the British equivalents of Webster's dictionary and the Simplified Spelling Board that standardized spelling and usage?
I am familiar with questions about when to double 'l' and differences between British and American spellings. However, I stumbled across this image.
As you can see, several words end in the double ...
2
votes
1answer
139 views
What is student discussion place called? [closed]
Is there any English (or in other languages) word for a place where students of different colleges discuss about activities (events, reputation) of their colleges/universities
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Why are “scaring” and “scarring” confused by some dictionaries? [closed]
Scaring is related to the word scare, while scarring is related to the word scar.
Why is it that some dictionaries get these two words confused?
For example, when you use Mac OS X Lion's lookup ...
4
votes
2answers
404 views
Why some abbreviations ended with a period, but some not?
I have just bought an Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
This is it's first page showing some abbreviations used in the dictionary.
My question is: why some abbreviations ended with a period ...
1
vote
0answers
59 views
Any good phrasal dictionaries? [closed]
I think I'm supposed to have a phrasal dictionary while learning English.
E-books and paper-formed are both welcome.
Any advice?
3
votes
2answers
178 views
What is a “sounds like” thesaurus called?
A dictionary contains word definitions.
A thesaurus contains words that mean the same (synonyms).
I'm looking for a name for a word dictionary that will give you rhymes (or "sounds like") of a word.
...
0
votes
0answers
37 views
Most famous/authentic dictionaries? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Regulatory bodies and authoritative dictionaries for English
What are the most famous or authentic dictionaries?
I mean- One can use a dictionary to learn about the ...
2
votes
1answer
645 views
Dictionary of English word syllables and stresses [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where can I obtain an English dictionary with structured data?
Does anybody know of a downloadable dictionary of English words with their syllables AND stress patterns? ...
6
votes
3answers
499 views
Is there such thing as an online preposition dictionary?
Is there such a thing as an online preposition dictionary?
For example, I want to use the word "interpretation" but I am not sure of its preposition. I don't know if the correct preposition should ...
0
votes
3answers
636 views
How to find a word to fit a meaning?
I need to find a word that would have a reasonably close meaning to:
a collection of facts and arguments used to arrive at an explanation [of some (thing|concept|idea|...)]
More generally, I ...
4
votes
5answers
365 views
On what juristic basis are students corrected when making mistakes in an English class? [closed]
I've learned that there is no authoritative dictionary for English. I wonder on what juristic basis students are corrected when making mistakes in an English class. How can someone say that whatever ...
18
votes
5answers
976 views
Is “iff” considered a real word or just an abbreviation?
I wonder if "iff" is considered a real word (as LEO says) or is it just an abbreviation (as in Wiktionary)?
0
votes
1answer
577 views
English word list with pronunciation [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where can I obtain an English dictionary with structured data?
Where can I find a digital English-language dictionary or word list containing pronunciation? I would ...
1
vote
1answer
633 views
Is there a simple word -> noun/verb/pronoun table? [closed]
I'm after a basic list of words and their "role" in language. It could be plain text, excel, csv, but all I want is, eg:
cat noun
run verb
etc. Simple as that. I'm teaching a young friend who's ...
2
votes
5answers
547 views
Vast amount of vocabulary in English books [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Are there 20,000 English words in the average adult's vocabulary?
English is not my native language, but I use it on a daily basis. I started reading English ...
11
votes
4answers
2k views
Is “criterions” a valid plural for “criterion”?
Is criterions a valid plural for criterion?
Dictionary.com says it is, but Oxford does not confirm or reject it.
1
vote
2answers
379 views
Is the word “encomprise” used in modern English? [closed]
If one googles the word encomprises, there are 5K+ pages, that have this word. I personally have heard people in the USA use it with a meaning of include.
Official dictionaries, on the other hand, ...
7
votes
2answers
215 views
Percentages of meanings in an English dictionary
Often when you look for some new word in a dictionary, you will find many definitions or meanings of the one word.
For example when you look for a word to in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary you ...
6
votes
3answers
206 views
Are published books to be considered an official reference for spelling? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Regulatory bodies and authoritative dictionaries for English
Many times I searched across several books for the usage of some words and many times I've found my results ...
4
votes
3answers
469 views
Which flavor of English (British vs. American) first had standard modern spellings?
Which flavor, British English or American English, first standardised its modern spellings?
I'm mostly interested in the direction of alteration; for example, was the u dropped from colour or was the ...
3
votes
1answer
270 views
Dictionary program/website that has IPA+recording for as many words as possible
I usually use Wiktionary as my English dictionary. The main things that I'm interested in are (1) IPA transcriptions and (2) voice recordings of each word.
The problem is that Wiktionary doesn't have ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
Are there any online dictionaries that allow you to link to a single specific definition of a word? [closed]
For example, on my blog I want to link to the definition of 'nut' as'a perforated block usually of metal that has an internal screw thread and is used on a bolt or screw' which is the third definition ...
2
votes
0answers
322 views
Why do you think the Oxford English Dictionary changed their definition of “of?” [closed]
Of 'of': Expressing Possession and Being Possessed
I would like to discuss changes made to the definition of 'of' in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) from the 1989 edition to the 2010 edition. ...
0
votes
2answers
353 views
Best resources for word popularity [closed]
I am looking for a good resource that can give me some idea of how popular or commonly used a word is. Some of these may be:
WordCount.org -- Indexes the words based on the popularity count. For ...
8
votes
3answers
342 views
Is 'compatriate' really an English word?
I recently saw the word 'compatriate' used in a newspaper article. Upon looking it up, suspecting a typo (or even an eggcorn: it is easy to see how compatriot would be mixed-up with expatriate etc.), ...
