DI C T I ON ARY

SK ILLS

Prof. Reima Al-Jarf

1998
Prof. Al-Jarf Dictionary Skills

WHAT IS A DICTIONARY
A dictionary is a book that lists words in alphabetical
order and describes their meaning. Modern dictionaries include
information about spelling, syllabication, pronunciation, word
derivation, usage, synonyms, grammar and sometimes
illustrations.

WHAT IS AN ENCYCLOPEDIA
It is a collection of articles about every branch of
knowledge. The articles are arranged alphabetically and they
include definitions. Their descriptions go far beyond the
information given in a dictionary. Encyclopedic articles are
topical, dealing with the entire subject represented by the
article's title. Encyclopedia's are about things.

TYPES OF DICTIONARIES
Dictionaries can be classified according to : the number
of languages, the age of the user, size, and scope covered by
subject.

1. Number Of Languages
 Monolingual dictionaries: they are written in one
language. they are chiefly intended for native speakers.
They provide many kinds of information about their
entry word. Each entry word is rephrased in words in the
same language as the entry word.

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 Bilingual dictionaries: They contain an alphabetical list

of words and expressions in one language for which
exact equivalents are given in another language. The
purpose of bilingual dictionaries is to provide help for
someone who understands one language but not another.

Bilingual dictionaries may be unidirectional or bi-

directional. They may go in one direction from English
to Arabic or may be combined with another dictionary
that goes from Arabic to English.

 Trilingual dictionaries: They consist of 2 widely

understood languages as English and French plus one
language having much more local use such as a little
known African language.

2. The Age Of The User:

School dictionaries: they have simplified and graded
vocabularies, large type, and attractive graphics, attractive
format and illustrations, sometimes in color. The are usually
divided into: elementary school (ages 3-8), middle school (ages
6-10), and secondary school (ages 9-12). Children's dictionaries
should have controlled vocabulary and limited definitions. Some
have graded vocabularies. They assign a grade level to each
vocabulary entry. High school dictionaries contain 75,000-
100,000 entries. Most high school dictionaries resemble adult
desk dictionaries, but are set in larger type with more
illustrations and have sturdier bindings. School dictionaries
definitions are somewhat simpler than those of most adult
dictionaries but their vocabulary is various enough for the
student to find his own level.
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3. The Size Of The Dictionaries:

English lexicon has about 4 million. It includes 700,000
in the Meriam-Webster files, 1 million words in the scientific
vocabulary, dialectical words, slang, neologisms, exotic words
(from other languages), trade names, words derived from place
names, obsolete words and spellings of them; 6 million chemical
compounds; 200,000 medical terms. Those include Latin
anatomical words and expressions.

 college dictionaries: contain 130,000-160,000 entries.

They are used in colleges and schools. For example:
o Collins dictionary of The English Language
o Longman New Universal Dictionary

 Desk dictionaries: They contain from 60,000-100,000

words. They can be picked up easily ate a desk. They do
not have fewer entries than a college dictionary, but
their definitions are briefer and fewer senses are given
for each word. For example:
o Thorndike-Barnhart Comprehensive Desk
Dictionary.

 Pocket dictionaries: They have 40,000-60,000 entries.

They are cheap dictionaries of small size (usually 4" X
6") with paper covers. They are good to use for spelling.
Their definitions are close to synonyms. They often
include small maps and population statistics.

 Unabridged dictionaries: They contain between

400,000-600,000 entries. They give full coverage to the
lexicon in general use (in common use in the public

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press and in ordinary speech in both informal and

reserved styles) and substantial coverage to specialized
lexicon. For example:
o Webster's third New International Dictionary.

 Semi-abridged = semi-unabridged: They contain

260,000 words

4. Scope Of Coverage By Subject:

 General dictionaries:

 Special subject dictionaries: there are subject field

dictionaries in law, medicine, biology, electronics,
architecture, geography, education, engineering. Some
are limited to one aspect of language such as dictionaries
of pronunciation, spelling, abbreviations and acronyms,
synonyms, etymological, proverbs, quotations, and
idioms. Specialized dictionaries tend to be more
encyclopedic in content depending on concept rather
than terms for classifying information.

5. The Language Of The User:

 ESL dictionaries: they are designed for those who are
learning English as a second language. They provide
detailed information on pronunciation, verb patterns and
collocations. Definitions are expressed in simplified
language and sometimes in a controlled vocabulary.
They are designed to enable L2 learners to produce
utterances in English not just comprehend them. There
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ESL dictionaries for beginning, intermediate and

advanced students. The vocabulary of ESL dictionaries
contain many idiomatic expressions and culture-specific
terms. They contain information that ordinary
monolingual dictionaries do not. They tell the user which
nouns are countable and which are not, whether verbs are
transitive or intransitive and what sort of objects they
take if they are transitive. They tell how to inflect verbs,
and how to compare adjectives and adverbs, whether
adjectives occur before a noun of following a verb; how
words are pronounced in British English and in
American English and how compounds are stressed. For
example:
o Longman Dictionary of Current English
o Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of
Current English

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ELEMENTS OF A DICTIONARY
A. Front Matter:
includes a guide to the use of the dictionary. The guide
describes every part of the dictionary article: entry word,
syllabication, pronunciation, inflected forms, various kinds of
labels, cross-references, variants, etymology, synonyms and
usage notes. The purpose of the guide is to describe as clearly as
possible all kinds of information included in the dictionary,
show the reader how to interpret the data given and provides
clues for locating as quickly as possible particular items of
information. A sample page from the A-Z section is often
printed with various parts of the entries bracketed and linked to
captions that identify each part and refer to sections of the guide
where the items are discussed.

Desk dictionaries include a history of the English

language, pronunciation, usage, and regional varieties of
English, etymology, the influence of linguistics on lexicography,
computer analysis of language, pronunciation, Americanisms
and Canadian English.

B. Back Matter:
Contains various linguistic aids such as: lists of irregular
verbs, spelling guides, tables of ordinal and cardinal numbers,
tables of weights and measures and punctuation guides. Others
include sections listing biographical and geographical names,
different practical guides to writing, (pronunciation, grammar,
style), forms of address, signs and symbols, lists of
abbreviations, foreign words and phrases, and given names.

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C. Headword:
It is the word you look up in the dictionary. Headwords
are the words listed alphabetically throughout the dictionary.

D. Entries
Consist of a headword and all the information about the
headword.

 Types of entries: There are 2 kinds of entries: main

entry and sub entry.

 Alphabetization of entries:
Dictionaries alphabetize letter by letter rather than word
by word. For example:
power powerful power of attorney

 Idioms are listed in several places. They are usually run

in at the end of the entry for one of the key words of the
phrase. Most dictionaries list words under the first word,
but exceptions are common.

 The entry/subentry system is used in scientific and

technical dictionaries in which 50% of the total entries
are phrasal entries. Phrasal entries are alphabetized
under the governing noun and then alphabetizing
(usually latter by letter) within the subentry field. For
example:
blood blood fluke
blood bank blood poisoning
blood clot blood pressure
blood count blood test

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Some prepositions, connectives, or articles are ignored in

letter-by-letter alphabetization.

 Chemical terms use the entry/subentry method of

alphabetization. They are alphabetized letter-by-letter but
appear as subentries if listed as 2 words. methyl cellulose
would appear as a subentry under methyl not under
cellulose , but methylcellulose would appear in its own
alphabetic place as a main entry.

 The infinitive form is traditionally used for both the

entry heading and the translation of verbs. Therefore, it is
important to list inflected forms as headwords with
cross-references to the infinitive form.

 Derivatives are usually run on at the end of the entry.

They are defined separately if they have peculiar senses.

 Verbal idioms are listed in several places. They are

usually 'run in' at the end of the entry for one of the key
words of the phrase. Most dictionaries list idioms under
the first word, but exceptions are common.

 Guide words:

 suffixes and prefixes

 compounds

EXAMPLES

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Prof. Al-Jarf Dictionary Skills

au-tumn /O:t m/ AmE also fall--- n [R;C;(U)] the

season between summer and winter when leaves turn
gold and fruits become ripe

fast-ness /fA:stn s 'fa st-/ n 1 [C] a safe place which is

hard to reach (esp. in the phr. a mountain fastness) 2
[U] the quality of being firm or fixed: the fastness of a
colour /of his hold on the handle
USAGE There is no noun formed from fast when it
means quick. Use instead speed or quickness.

fat' /f t/ adj [Wa1] 1(of creatures and their bodies)

having (too) much fat: fat cattle / a fat baby /you'll get
even fatter if you eat all those potatoes
2 (of meat) containing a lot of fat
3 thick and well-filled: a fat book / (fig.) a fat
bank account
4 (esp. of land) producing plentiful crops: the
fatfarms in the valley
5 a fat lot of sl no; not any: A fat lot of good /of
use that is!

fit-ting1 /'fiti / adj fml right for the purpose or

occasion; suitable: It is fitting that we should remember
him on his birthday--- opposite unfitting

fox1 /f ks faks/ n 1 [C] (fem. vixen) --- a any of

several types of small doglike flesh-eating wild animal
with a bushy tail, esp. b a type of European animal with
reddish fur, preserved in Britain to be hunted and often
said to have a clever and deceiving nature

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GCE abbrev. For: (in Britain) General Certificate of

Education; an examination in one of many subjects set by
various universities and taken by pupils aged 15 or over

go on2 v prep [T1 no pass.] to use as a reason, proof, or

base for further action: We were just going on what you
yourself had said.

if1 /If/ conj 1 (not usu. followed by the future tense )

supposing that; on condition that: "we can send you a
map if you wish" (SEU S.)

ep-o-ppe (ep' pe') n. [Fr. epoppe < Gk. epopaiia <

epopoios, epic poet : epos , epic + poiein , to make ] 1.
epic poetry, esp. as a literary genre. 2. An epic poem.

ep-os (epos) n. [Lat. < Gk.]

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CONTENTS OF AN ENTRY
HEAD WORD: It is the word that is defined by the dictionary.

(1) Pronunciation:
a. phonetic transcription: Dictionaries use the phonetic
or phonemic system to show the pronunciation of a
word. In the phonemic system, the word is respelled in
alphabetic characters with diacritical marks over
certain vowels and with primary and secondary stress
marks. The pronunciation key is usually printed on
every 2 page spread. In the phonetic system, the
International Phonetic Alphabet is used. The
pronunciation key is usually included in the front
matter.Sometimes, dictionaries show 2 pronunciations:
Am and Br pronunciations. For ESL dictionary users,
pronunciation is of great importance. Bilingual
dictionaries generally show one pronunciation only.
Pronunciation is regarded of secondary importance in
BD. Some scientific and technical dictionaries show
pronunciation and some do not.

b. Syllabication:

c. Stress: English has the following stress rules:

1. first syllable. For example:
'ne-ver , 'break-fast , 'Mon-day .

2. A number of words have two different stress patterns

according to whether they are verbs or nouns, e.g.:

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absent, accent, conduct, convict, digest, separate,

perfect, permit , present, suspect, transport.

3. When a suffix is added to a word, the new form is

stressed on the syllable as was the basic word. For
example:
a-'ban-don a-'ban-don-ment
'ha-ppy 'ha-ppi-ness
'rea-son 'rea-son-able
'de-ve-lop de-'ve-lop-ment

4. words ending in -tion, -sion, -ic, -ical, -ity almost

always have primary stress on the syllable preceding
the ending , e.g. :
'pub-lic pub-'li-ci-ty
'bio-lo-gy bio-'lo-gi-cal
con-'trib-ute con-trib-'u-tion
e-'co-no-my e-co-'no-mi-cal

5. If a word ending in -ate or -ment has only two syllables

, the stress falls on the last syllable if the word is a
verb, but on the first syllable if the word is a noun or
an adjective. When stressed , the ending is pronounced
[eyt], [mEnt]; when unstressed, it is pronounced [It],
[m ´ nt]. For example: create, debate, inflate, locate,
climate, senate, private, cognate, ferment, torment,
lament, comment

6. If a word ending in -ate, -ment has more than two

syllables, the main stress will fall on the third syllable
from the end. In verbs, the final syllable is pronounced
[eyt], [m nt]; in nouns it is pronounced [It], [m ´ nt].

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For example: ferment, demonstrate, implement,

certificate, fortunate, delicate, intimate, ornament,
compartment, duplicate, estimate,delegate, separate,
supplement, complement, experiment

7. Compound nouns have a primary stress on the first

component. For example:
'drugstore, 'thoroughfare, 'weatherman.

8. In compound verbs, the primary stress falls on the

second component. For example:
understand, overlook

9. In words ending in -ion, -sive, the stress falls on the

last vowel before the ending. For example:
re-'li-gion, com-'pan-ion,
o-'pin-ion, pro-t'ec-tion,
re-vo-'lu-tion, o-'cca-sion,
agg-'res-sive, ex-'clu-sive,
o-'ffen-sive, dec-la-'ra-tion,
dis-'cu-ssion, comp-re-'hen-sion.

10. The majority of English compoounds have single

stress. For example:
'banana-skin 'bedroom,
'blacksmith, 'doorstep,
'flowerpot, 'birthday,
'earthquake, 'house-keeper.

11. All compounds with a present participle, as the first

element, have a single stress. For example:

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'dinning-room, 'drinking-water,
'playing-field, 'riding -horse.

12. A double stress is used in compounds of two nouns, if

the first noun indicates the material of which or with
which the second is made. For example:
'gold 'coin, 'gold 'dust, 'gold 'watch,
'glass 'case, 'metal 'wire, 'lead 'pencil
.

13. A double stress is used in compounds consisting of two

nouns, each indicating a different characteristic of the
same person or thing. For example:
'boy 'scout, 'girl 'guide, 'woman 'teacher

(2) Grammatical information:

General dictionaries provide the following basic
grammatical information:
 the part of speech of each entry.
 whether verbs are transitive or intransitive.
 whether nouns are count or non-count.
 whether the word should be capitalized or not.
 grammatical information about function words.
 ESL dictionaries provide different verb paradigms.
 safe idiomatic uses.
 scientific and technical dictionaries provide little
grammatical information. Irregular plural forms as
for Latin terms may be included.

 Children's dictioaries do not include part of speech.

(3) Spelling:
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(4) Definitions:

(5) Illustrative Examples:

(6) Pictorial Illustrations: A picture is at best a representative

of he type of thing defined.Concrete objects such as forms of
architecture, animals, planta, and man other things marked by a
specific shape, such as geometric figures are more easily grasped
by means of illustrations than by verbal description. The primary
purpose of illustrations is to depict unusual or unfamiliar things.
Technical and scientific dictionaries often use pictorial
illustrations as well as charts and tables to supplement their
texts.

(7) Cross Reference:

(8) Etymology: It describes a word's form and meaning when it

first appeared in english and describes its intemediate and
ultimate forms and meanings in other languages. Etymology is
not included in ESL dictionaries. They are often included in
Scientific and technical dictionaries as they are believed to be
essential for understanding meaning.

(9) Labels:

(10) Idioms:

(11) Collocations:

(12) Compounds:
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(13) Derivatives:

(14) Punctuation:

(15) Symbols

(16) Labels

(17) Usage

(18) Arrangement Of Homonyms

(19) Arrangement Of The Meanings Of Polysemous Words

(20) Meaning
 denotative meaning
 connotative meaning
 collocations
 grammatical meaning
 polysemes
 homonyms
 synonyms
 hyponyms

SYMBOLS USED IN THE DICTIONARY

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DIFFERENT TYPE FACES USED IN THE

DICTIONARY

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE DICTIONARY

1. Vowels
in
put
get
but
for
cat
far
better

II. Diphthongs
late
see
go
two
cry
house
boy, noise

III. Consonants
/g/ good
/ / chair
/ / Jordan
/ / three
/ / these
/ / shade

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/ / measure
/ / long

syllable type example transcription

V a
CV the
VC eat /iyt/
CVC sit /sit/
CCV tree /triy/
VCC east /iyst/
CCVC stood /stud/
CCCVC street /striyt/
CCCVCC streets /striyts/
CCCVCCC strengths /strehqs/
CVCC sips /sips/
CCVCC treats /triyts/
CVCCC depths /depqs/
CCCV screw /skruw/
VCCC asks / sks/

expensive
explosion
happy
television
financial

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