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Archiver > OLD-WORDS > 2000-10 > 0972051658


From: Alexandra Robbin <>
Subject: [OLDWORDS] Online dictionaries featured by TOURBUS
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 09:20:58 -0500


--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Patrick Douglas Crispen <>
To:
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 00:08:14 -0400
<snip>
More Online Dictionaries
------------------------
As most teachers and students already know, the Merriam-Webster
Collegiate Dictionary has been available, free of charge, on AOL since
1995 and on the Web since 1996. You can find the Web version at

<A HREF="http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm">;
http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm </A>,

The online Merriam-Webster dictionary works much like a search engine.
Key in the word you are looking for and up pops the Webster's entry for
that word, including the word's pronunciation, origin, and definition.
It couldn't be easier to use. In fact, it is so easy to use that you may
find yourself doing something you never thought you'd do: look up words
in the dictionary ... often!

Merriam-Webster isn't the only name brand dictionary on the Web, though.
There is a new kid on the online dictionary block. The Fourth Edition of
the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is now
available, free of charge, at

<A HREF="http://www.bartleby.com/61/">;
http://www.bartleby.com/61/ </A>

If this address looks familiar, give yourself a gold star. We talked
about the Bartleby.com Web site earlier this year (remember that post
about Gray's Anatomy?). The American Heritage Dictionary is the latest
addition to Bartleby's online arsenal.

Bartleby's American Heritage dictionary takes the Merriam-Webster
dictionary one step further. Not only does the online edition of the
American Heritage dictionary have over 90,000 entries and 900 full-page
color illustrations, it also has 70,000 audio word pronunciations.
That's right, folks ... not only can you look up a
word's definition, you can also hear how that word is pronounced! :)

Using the online American Heritage dictionary is a little like using the
online Merriam-Webster dictionary, but with one additional step. Key in
the word you are looking for, and you'll be taken to a
search-engine-esque results page. You have to click on the appropriate
hit to see the definition for which you are looking. [This will make
more sense when you try it.]

American Heritage's definitions are quite in-depth. In fact, I kind of
like their definitions a little more than Webster's. I particularly like
American Heritage's etymology and usage notes sections. For example,
here are the usage notes for the word "harass":

Educated usage appears to be evenly divided on the pronunciation
of harass. In a recent survey 50 percent of the Usage Panel
preferred stressing the first syllable, while 50 percent
preferred stressing the second. Curiously, the Panelists'
comments appear to indicate that each side regards itself as an
embattled minority.

Oh, and to hear how a particular word is pronounced, just click on the
beige speaker icon in the pronunciation section of that word's
definition.

If truth be told, as much as I like both the Merriam-Webster and American
Heritage dictionaries, I am still waiting for the granddaddy of all
dictionaries, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), to truly open its
doors to the public. The OED has HALF A MILLION WORDS in it! The paper
version of the OED fills 20 volumes! That's *big*!

Interested? Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The good
news is that OED is available online at http://www.oed.com/. The bad
news is that it's not quite free. In fact, a personal subscription to
the online edition of the OED costs US$550 a year. EEEK!

I think I'll stick with online Merriam-Webster and American Heritage
dictionaries for now, thank you. :)

Of course, it is silly to assume that everyone in the world speaks
English. That's where our final dictionary stop comes in.
YourDictionary.com at

<A HREF="http://www.yourdictionary.com/">;
http://www.yourdictionary.com/ </A>
is a portal for online dictionaries, giving you links to more than 1800
dictionaries representing more than 230 languages. These dictionaries
are organized into five different sections:

1. Language Dictionaries
[ http://www.yourdictionary.com/languages.html ]
Links to online dictionaries in 230 different languages, from
Afrikaans and Aklanon to Xohsa and Zoque.

2. Specialty Dictionaries
[ http://www.yourdictionary.com/specialty.html ]
Links to dictionaries and glossaries of specialized words in
the English language in fields ranging from advertising and
agriculture to travel and water.

3. Multilingual Dictionaries
[ http://www.yourdictionary.com/diction1.html#multi ]
Links to dictionaries that use several different languages

4. Translation Engines
[ http://www.yourdictionary.com/diction1.html#translate ]
Links to tools that let you translate between all European
languages

5. Other Indicies
[ http://www.yourdictionary.com/diction1.html#index ]
Links to other dictionary indices (like
http://colibri.let.ruu.nl/html/dictionaries.html )

If you know anyone who is a student or educator, tell them to bookmark
YourDictionary.com. It is an amazing educational resource.

<snip>
TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE WEEK
- -------------------------------
HAIRY BACK (phrase). A request to return soon. Usage: "You hairy back
now, ya hear?"
[Special thanks go to Kent Merideth for today's word]

You can find all of the old Southern Words of the day at
<A HREF="http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html">;
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html </A>

<snip>

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