Guide to English Language & Literature

Dictionaries

Online | Printed | Specialized | Thesauri | Word Trivia

Dictionaries serve as a record of how language is used (and sometimes a description of how it ought to be used). Not all dictionaries, however, are created equal. They vary in thoroughness, level of detail, and the types of information they provide. Some dictionaries are intended for general users; others are created primarily for use by linguists and other language scholars.

These are just a few of the better dictionaries and language reference tools you will find, both online and in printed form. Use the library catalog and search for the subject ENGLISH LANGUAGE--DICTIONARIES to find other useful works.

Online:

• Oxford English Dictionary
  Also see print version in HODGES Reference PE1625.O87 1989

OED is the pre-eminent historical/etymological dictionary of the English language. Also see other dictionaries and thesauri from Oxford Reference Online (below).

• Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged
  Also see print version in HODGES Reference PE1625.W3 1981

One of most respected dictionaries of the English language containing 450,000 vocabulary entries.

• American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
  Also see 4th ed. in HODGES Reference PE1628 .A623 2000

Third edition, 1996, from Bartleby.com. Provides syllabication, Pronunciation, parts of speech, definition, etymology, and other forms. Contains "over 350,000 entries and meanings. Word definitions are further enhanced by over 34,000 examples of use, more than 500 usage notes and a newly revised appendix of Indo-European roots."

• Cambridge Dictionaries Online

Online searching (singly but not simultaneously) of Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Cambridge Dictionary of American English, Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, and Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Includes pronunciation, parts of speech, and definition.

• Dictionary.com

Pronunciation, definition, usage, idioms, etc., but also gives links to other dictionary entries, including translations from bilingual dictionaries. Thesaurus included.

• Encarta World English Dictionary
  Also see print version in HODGES Reference PE1628.S5824 1999

Free online version of Encarta. Provides pronunciation (inlcuding audio file examples of some words), parts of speech, definition, and etymology.

• Hypertext Webster Gateway

Heavily hypertextual version of Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913). Provides Etymology, pronunciation, and definitions.

• iTools

Dictionary aggregator. Includes dictionaries, theasauri, language translators, quotations, anagrams, acronyms and more.

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
  Also see print version in HODGES Reference PE1628.W5638 1993

Provides pronunciation, parts of speech, etymology, and definitions. Includes thesaurus.

• Newbury House Online Dictionary

Over 40,000 entries that contain pronunciation, parts of speech, definition, and examples. Plans are to include photographs of relevant objects--limited selection currently available.

• OneLook Dictionaries

Dictionary aggregator. Search in 252 dictionaries on the web or choose from Special Subject Dictionaries.

• Oxford Reference Online: English Dictionaries and Thesauruses

Several dictionaries from Oxford University Press.

• Wordsmyth: The Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus

Includes syllabication, pronunciation, definitions, synonyms, inflections, and parts of speech. "(WEDT) is the premier online American English dictionary with an integrated thesaurus. WEDT contains 50,000 headwords, and very precisely defined and hyperlinked synonyms."

• yourDictionary.com (A Web of On-line Dictionaries)

Dictionary aggregator. More than 400 dictionaries in English and over 130 different languages.

• Other Dictionary directories: Internet Public Library | Yahoo

Printed:

• Cassidy, Frederic G., ed. Dictionary of American Regional English. Cambridge: Belknap-Harvard University Press, 1985-.
  HODGES Reference PE2843.D52

Pre-eminent dictionary of regional usage in America. Not yet complete; volumes still being issued.

• Craigie, William, ed. A Dictionary of American English on Historical Principles. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1936-44.
  HODGES Reference and Stacks PE2835.C7

The first great American etymological dictionary. Similar in its methods to the Oxford English Dictionary.

• Dictionary of Old English [microfiche]. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, 1986-.
  HODGES Microforms PE279.D53 1986

Still in production; only a few volumes issued thus far.

• Kurath, Hans, ed. Middle English Dictionary. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1952.
  HODGES Reference PE679.M54

The best of dictionaries specifically for Middle English.

• Lighter, J.E., ed. Historical Dictionary of American Slang. Random House, 1994-.
  HODGES Reference PE2846.H57 1994

Still in production; only a few volumes issued thus far.

• Mathews, Mitford M., ed. A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951.
  HODGES Reference and Stacks PE2835.D5

A complement to Craigie (see above).

• Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd ed. New York: Random House, 2001
  HODGES Reference PE1625.R293 2001

One of the more complete unabridged dictionaries.

Specialized:

• Acronym Finder

Search among over 153,000 acronyms or search by "reverse" keywords.

• American Sign Language Browser

Browse for words and then view a demonstration of the sign.

• Law.com Dictionary

Browse or search legal terms. Reverse search function also available.

• Lexical FreeNet

Search for relationships between words. "This program allows you to search for relationships between words, concepts, and people. It is a combination thesaurus, rhyming dictionary, pun generator, and concept navigator."

• RhymeZone

Find rhymes, synomyms, antonyms, homophones, and related words.

• Word Spy

A collection of over 1000 neologisms. Browse or search using bolean logic. "This Web site and its associated mailing list are devoted to recently coined words, existing words that have enjoyed a recent renaissance, and older words that are now being used in new ways.

• WorldWideWeb Acronym and Abbreviation Server

Search by acronym or definition. Submit an acronym.

• Specialized dictionary directories: Yahoo slang dictionaries

Thesauri:

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus

Includes short definition, synomyms, antonyms, related words and contrasted words.

• Roget's Thesaurus

1911 edition. Search the headwords or full text. From the ARTFL Project.

• Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus

3rd. edition from Bartleby.com. Browse alphabetically and by category, or search the full text. "[C]ontains 35,000 synonyms, in an easy-to-use format that eschews the traditionally classified or category-indexed thesaurus of old."

• Thesaurus.com

Alphabetical and categorical index. Dictionary also included. From Lexico LLC.

Word Trivia:

• Internet Anagram Server

Find new words and phrases from rearranged letters.

• Web of Linguistic Fun

Word history, puzzles, and other trivia.

• Word Oddities and Trivia

Find those much sought after words ending in -gry and other language tidbits.