Questions about English dictionaries
25
votes
3answers
1k views
Regulatory bodies and authoritative dictionaries for English
Some languages have a "regulatory body" issuing recommendations and guidelines regarding the use of that language.
For example in the case of Spanish it's the Real Academia Española whose status is ...
19
votes
5answers
978 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)?
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.
11
votes
2answers
744 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? ...
11
votes
4answers
676 views
Where can I obtain an English dictionary with structured data?
I would like to download an English dictionary -- not just a word list -- in a structured format such as TXT, XML, or SQL.
Specifically, I need phonetic pronunciation and parts of speech (definition ...
8
votes
7answers
1k views
What does “akin to” mean in etymologies in dictionary entries?
Many etymologies in dictionaries say that some word is “akin to” a word in some other language. For example, here is part of the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary entry for salt:
Main Entry: 1salt ...
8
votes
3answers
394 views
Different syllabic boundaries in various dictionaries?
Consider, for instance, the word "university":
American Heritage: u·ni·ver·si·ty
Collins Cobuild: uni|ver|sity
Merriam Webster: uni·ver·si·ty
As you see, syllabic boundaries differ.
I read ...
8
votes
3answers
345 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.), ...
7
votes
4answers
5k 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 ...
7
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the best paper-based dictionary? [closed]
I'd like to have a dictionary in paper that won't be very big, at least there should be one tome, and it should be something like thefreedictionary.com but in paper, to use it offline.
Please advise.
7
votes
2answers
217 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Online rhyme dictionary/rhyming resource that lists rhymes by vowel sound (assonance)
Anyone know of an online rhyming dictionary or rhyme resource that lists rhymes by vowel sound (assonance)? RhymeZone.com doesn't have such an option.
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 ...
6
votes
2answers
2k 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 ...
6
votes
3answers
912 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 ...
6
votes
3answers
506 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 ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
Why is “ain't” not listed in dictionaries?
Google finds 52,000,000 matches for ain't but non-natives simply can't look up this word. Wiktionary isn't helpful.
Is it some kind of 'wildcard' for am/is/are not?
5
votes
1answer
955 views
Which of these meanings for the word “pet” came first?
The word "pet" has a few different definitions (my own paraphrase):
n: An animal kept for companionship.
v: To affectionately caress.
My question is, which of these usages originated first? Do we ...
5
votes
3answers
244 views
Source for etymological study
It has always been interesting for me to know how words are made and where they are coming from. Is there any reliable source for etymological studies? any books, or dictionaries out there?
5
votes
3answers
5k views
Largest open-source dictionary w/ brief definitions (not wiktionary)
What's the largest open-source dictionary that includes brief
definitions of each word? Wiktionary is a great resource but:
There are over 200K words in the scowl list that aren't in
wiktionary. ...
5
votes
3answers
194 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
327 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
4
votes
4answers
235 views
What are comparative strong points of online dictionaries and other useful reference sites?
NOTE:
This question was composed in an attempt to follow Guidelines for Great Subjective Questions. I hope I do not fail them too hard, but if you see how the question can be improved please edit ...
4
votes
3answers
472 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 ...
4
votes
4answers
767 views
Is there any online phrase dictionary available?
I use WordWeb which is available online for vocabulary. But, is there any equivalent for getting the meaning and origin of phrases ?
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 ...
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 ...
3
votes
8answers
521 views
What word describes interpreting evidence in such a way as to reach a desired conclusion?
Does anyone know what it's called when you interpret evidence to reach the conclusion you want?
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 ...
3
votes
3answers
400 views
Is there an 'official' way to suggest a new word become part of the English language? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Regulatory bodies and authoritative dictionaries for English
Creating a new word
What are the criteria to adopt new words into English?
I've always been told, at ...
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?
3
votes
2answers
534 views
Which was the first dictionary and how was it decided which words went into it?
I've heard the riddle: "If Websters' was the first dictionary where did he get all the words from?"
It has quite since intrigued me, honestly. Which was the first English language dictionary and how ...
3
votes
3answers
356 views
Is it possible to form adjective “morally” by deriving it from the noun “moral” (as in “of the story”)?
Recently I used the word morally as an adjective formed from the noun moral. The concept I wanted to describe was that some statement is morally correct if you are able to agree with it intuitively ...
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
1answer
361 views
What is the accepted definition of the following words in this sentence?
Quoting DailyWTF:
The Matrix! No, not the the uburbulous deprodication errebelously conceived by “The Architect”.
What is the accepted definition of the following words in the above quote?
...
3
votes
5answers
707 views
Is there a specific word for a list of [word + how to use it in a sentence]?
Like a dictionary, but instead of a list of words and their definitions, it contains words and how to use them in a sentence. If there is no such word, is there a specific word for a dictionary that ...
3
votes
2answers
180 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.
...
3
votes
1answer
277 views
Do any print dictionaries admit “everytime” as a word?
I've noticed a tendency for more and more two-word phrases with even slightly idiomatic usage being written more and more as single word compounds. Today when I came across "everytime" written as a ...
3
votes
0answers
51 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!
3
votes
1answer
271 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 ...
2
votes
5answers
550 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
140 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
2
votes
3answers
361 views
Good dictionary software
What is good dictionary software? I am asking about the ones that can be downloaded and used on Windows machines, and not online websites.
I thought Word Web is a good one, but are there any advanced ...
2
votes
1answer
658 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? ...
2
votes
0answers
324 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. ...
1
vote
4answers
1k views
US Equivalent to the Oxford English Dictionary
Apologies if this question is inappropriate for the site.
In the US, what would be equivalent to the OED? The de facto standard. I know there's the New Oxford American Dictionary but in the US does ...
1
vote
4answers
147 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 ...
1
vote
3answers
392 views
Creating a new word
If you invent a new word, how do you go about getting this recognised as a real word in dictionaries?
