If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy the novel The Great Passage by Shion Miura, a wonderful quiet novel about the creation of a Japanese dictionary.
Also an anime, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Passage_(TV_series)
You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
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Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
#22What can be said about some of the Wiktionary entries though?
Since Webster's dictionary is out of copyright, it was used as a source for many entries on Wiktionary. https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Webster%27s_Dict... There's a category for entries that were imported mostly unmodified, with 26,433 pages. https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Webster_1913
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Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
#23[deleted]
Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
#24I like to make my own dictionaries for texts I'm studying. I sort all the words, uniq them, and create a word list containing every word in the text I'm studying.
Then, I pipe each word entry through sdcv, with my favourite dictionaries enabled, and create a glossary specifically for the text in study.
Then as I study the text, and encounter strange and unfamiliar words, I use my glossary to gain understanding. If something doesn't quite seem right, I consult other dictionary entries for the word in question - this is often because its a technical phrase or term.
This has helped me immensely to understand texts before I even start reading them.
Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
#25While an interesting perspective, I do have to question whether this is simply a matter of the author preferring Webster's prescriptive nuances over more descriptive approaches, even when those nuances do not appear supported by use. Taking the example they use, fustian, the OED does not include the idea that it refers specifically to a mismatch between topic and style, and gives numerous examples, from Marlowe onwar…
Is there any reason to attempt to capture, as you're seemingly describing, the intersection of the usages of a word; the "beige" of definitions? Would it not make more sense to instead describe all the various shades of usage that the word has had emplaced within it by various writers' hands—at least those put forth with enough force for those shades to be recognized and understood by readers today—even if those usag…
Don't most dictionaries do this to an extent? A description, a pronunciation guide then an example or two?
In the world of digital books though, you would be able to freatpy expand upon those examples(and even including blurbs about the usage of said word).
Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
#26Wow this is wonderful, thank you. I am wondering if something similar exists for German.
Potentially the Deutsches Wörterbuch started by the Brothers Grimm: http://woerterbuchnetz.de/DWB
SPORT, m. leibesübung als spiel und zum vergnügen; ein englisches wort,
das die vergnügungen des feldes, der jagd, wettrennen, schwimmen und sonst
allerlei kurzweil nach festen regeln ausgeführt, bedeutet, im mittelenglischen
disport, mit dem verbum disporten sich vergnügen, lautet und auf altfranz.
desport, ital. diporto belustigung, freude, vergnügen, zurückgeht. die sache
selbst erscheint in nachahmung englischen brauchs mit dem namen vereinzelt
bereits in den 50 er jahren des 19. jahrh. (vgl. unten sportneuigkeit von 1855),
hat aber erst in den letzten jahrzehnten des 19. jahrh. so um sich gegriffen,
dasz das wort völlig in die deutsche sprache eingebürgert ist: sport treiben;
jagd-, reit-, renn-, schwimmsport; rittersport Freytag bilder 2, 1, 4;
dem sport huldigen, den sport pflegen.
Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
#27If you're interested in the same sort of beautiful, interesting dictionary for French, there's the classic Littré. It's not that the definitions themselves are colourful, but the quotes used as examples always are. https://www.littre.org/
Other good choices for French are the Trésor de la Langue Française informatisé (1994) developed by CNRS, and the various editions of the Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française.
They can be accessed here (along with a few more dictionaries) http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/
There is also a decent iPhone/Android app to search the TLFi (not free, requires internet access) https://dictionnaire.app/
Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
#28If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy the novel The Great Passage by Shion Miura, a wonderful quiet novel about the creation of a Japanese dictionary.
Also an anime, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Passage_(TV_series)
I’ve watched this series and can recommend it for anyone interested in the subject.
Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
#29Oh wow. I just discovered this dictionary recently myself, via the GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English [0].
It turns out that this is the primary default for the cli dictionary tool `dict` [1], which has happily become my go-to.
[0]:http://gcide.gnu.org.ua/ [1]:http://sourceforge.net/projects/dict/
Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)
#30Dictionaries are also useful for problem-solving. I tab-complete "dicto" in my editor and ten random dictionary words appear. I look for intuitive-metaphorical connections to the current problem. This has been very useful on coaching calls. "What if we look at this as a [carousel] amusement project. Where is the fun in it for you?" One client reminds me every month that one of those random words solved his problem, s…
Very similar to the Oblique Strategies method, though with different means: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategies