Explanatory Material
A. Explanations of Each Field.
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A. Explanations of Each Field
1. ENT: (Entry word) Return to Contents
Contains the main entry. This may be a solid word, a hyphenated word, or a multiple lexical unit (two or more words). It may also be a name, a symbol, an abbreviation, a letter of the alphabet, a contracted form of two words, or a word or words beginning with numbers, such as 4H or 3-D. The main entry may also contain diacritical marks (see section below for code), commas, apostrophes, or other marks. If the main entry is a homograph, it will include a left-facing brace([) and a sequential number, immediately following the word.
In general, each main entry is divided into syllables unless it is a multiple lexical unit.
The mark used to divide syllables in this field is the hyphen (-). If the main entry is a hyphenated word, we use the double hyphen (--) to indicate this. (Also the double hyphen is used before suffixes and after prefixes in the main entry field.) In all other fields, the single hyphen is used in hyphenated words.
Many main entries have variant spelling forms. These are presented either in parentheses or after the word "[or}".
Many main entries are homographs. That is, they are spelled the same way as another word but have different meanings. These words are followed by {and a number: fly{1, fly{2.
The following are examples of different kinds of main entries as they appear in the database:
an-ti-ci-pa-tion
fil-ter
can{1
can{2
can't
cant{1
cant{2
idee/@ fixe
music of the spheres
ax [or] axe
ca-ban-a (ca-ba-na/@)
car-a-vel (car-a-velle [or] car-vel)
cap--a--pie [or] cap--a/@--pie
camel's--hair brush
Wash-ing-ton, George
AIDS
a--{1
D.
d
3-D
St.
Sb
a/@ la carte
ABC soil
about--face
about face
Trinidad and Tobago
Vic-to-ri-a
Vic-to-ri-a, Queen
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
loc.cit.
ibid.
AA
coupe{1 (cou-pe/@)
Seyfert galaxy
Fri-day
bo's'n
north--north-east
U-lys-ses
vitamin B~12
There is a great variety of marks possible in the entry field. these are in two categories: 1) those that are part of the word as it is normally written; and 2) those that are codes (diacritics, homograph numbers, hyphen and double hyphen, ~, {, and son on). It is most important for various reasons that each mark is fully understood. In Wordsmyth's access program, some of these marks are not recognized electronically; also some are not recognized electronically in the alphabetizing program.
Note: Most main entries that appear to be duplicates are slightly different from each other. One may have a period, and the other not; one may have a diacritic, and the other not; one may have an apostrophe, and the other not; one may have a capital and the other lower-case; one may be homograph 1 and the other homograph 2.
But some main entries will be absolute electronic duplicates--especially letters of the alphabet, notes of the music scale, and abbreviations. Any absolute duplicates will cause problems in the designing of access programs.
Each entry word is divided into syllables in this field.
Transcription system for The Wordsmyth English DIcitonary-Thesaurus pronunciations.
Symbol:
As
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Stress: There are three levels of stress, PRIMARY, SECONDARY, and UNSTRESSED.
Syllables with primary stress are preceded by a '1', syllables with secondary stress are preceded by a '2', and unstressed syllables are preceded by a '0'. All monosyllabic words occurring in isolation are listed with '1' stress, even if they are usually unstressed in actual speech (eg. 'and', 'of', 'an'). Compound words have a standard '1 2 ' stress pattern (eg. 'headbord', bookcase'). ALL syllables are marked for stress, even unstressed syllables.
Phrasal entries are fully specified for pronunciation and stress. (You'll notice that most standard dictionaries indicate stress only for phrasal entries.)
Alternate pronunciations are entered on separate lines.
Entries for prefixes, suffixes and most abbreviations are not assigned pronunciation.
The English syllabic R (eg. mattER, gIRl) is rendered as '*r' in unstressed syllables & as 'uhr' in stressed syllables. For example, 'girl' is transcribed as 1guhrl', whereas 'matter' is transcribed as 1mae 0t*r'.
Words like 'wear' and 'war', in which an 'r' follows a mid vowel, are transcribed with 'e' and 'o' vowel nuclei respectively, even though the vowel is lowered/laxed before 'r'. We thus have 'wer' for 'wear' & 'wor' for 'war'. Many dictionaries represent this lax variant as 'e' or 'o' with a caret over it.
Contains the part of speech, or other indicator of function. The parts of speech are:
noun
singular noun
plural noun
transitive verb
intransitive verb
adjective
adverb
preposition
interjection
conjunction
pronoun
definite article
indefinite article
Indicators of other functions are as follows:
abbreviation
prefix
suffix
Some main entries will have more than one function listed in a function field. This is especially common with verbs, where the function field may read:
verb transitive, verb intransitive
When a part of speech or other function is referred to within a SYN or SIM field (and SYC and SIC fields also), it will be abbreviated, as follows:
n............... noun
sing.n......... singular noun
pl.n............ plural noun
v.tr............ transitive verb
v.intr.......... intransitive verb
adj............. adjective
adv............ adverb
prep........... preposition
interj.......... interjection
conj........... conjunction
pron.......... pronoun
abbr.......... abbreviation
pref.......... prefix
suff.......... suffix
Contains the inflected form or forms of the main entry word. Inflections in English usually change the spelling of a word, but do not change its part of speech. The following kinds of words may take inflections:
noun plural form
verb principal parts (tenses)
adjective comparative and superlative degrees
adverb comparative and superlative degrees
pronoun plural form
NOUNS: The regular way of making nouns plural in English is the adding of an -s (or -es) at the end. In the Wordsmyth dictionary, nouns will show plural forms in the INFLECTION field only 1) if the forms are irregular or 2) if they are possibly confusing to a learner. Nouns that take regular plural endings of -s and -es do not show these forms in the INFLECTION field. Some nouns do not have plurals, and thus show no inflection.
VERBS: These will show either 1) four principal parts in the INFLECTION field--past tense, past participle, present participle, and third person present tense--or 2) three principal parts if the past tense and past participle are identical. With most English verbs, the past tense and past participle are identical, so usually only three principal parts are listed.
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS: These can take comparative forms or superlative forms in three ways: 1) by the addition of -er or -est to the word; 2) by a change in the form of the word; or 3) by the use of "more" or "most" before the word.
Examples:
1. witty: wittier, wittiest
bald: balder, baldest
fat: fatter, fattest
2. good: better, best
little: less, least
3. hateful: more hateful, most hateful
In The Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus, only types 1 and 2 are shown in the INFLECTION field for adjectives and adverbs. Inflections for nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs may also have variants; these will occur in parentheses or after the word "[or]".
PRONOUNS: A few of these can take inflections also to indicate forms.
Examples:
this: these
that: those
yourself: yourselves
Contains a definition of the entry. If there is only one definition, it will not be numbered. If there are two or more, they will be numbered sequentially. Generally, these will be arranged with the most common meaning first, the next most common meaning second, and so on.
Generally, definitions begin with lower-case word, and end with period. If there is an example, a colon(:) will follow the definition, and the period will follow the example. Some definitions will end with a parenthesis, esp. those showing abbreviated forms, cross-references, or symbols.
Certain abbreviated words are used in definitions. These are:
usu. --usually
esp. --especially
fol. --followed
prec. --preceded
pl. --plural
sing. --singular
comp. --comparative
superl. --superlative
Cf. --compare
abbr. --abbreviation
Many definitions contain usage notes in parentheses. Some precede the definition, and some follow the definition.
Example of usage notes at beginning of definition:
(pl.)--means the word always occurs in its plural form in this meaning
(cap.)--means the word is always capitalized in this meaning
(l.c.)--means the word is always lower case in this meaning
Each of these notes can appear in qualified form, preceded by "usu.,""often," or "sometimes." Thus "(usu.l.c.)" means that the word usually occurs in lower case in this meaning.
Other such notes include "(used with a pl.verb)" or "(pl., but used with a sing. verb)."
Example: usage notes at end of definition:
(usu.fol.by in, on, or upon)
(prec.by the)
(often used in combination)
(usu.used reflexively)
There is one kind of usage label that occurs at the beginning of definitions: "(informal)."
this means that the word is usually used in this sense only in informal speech, and that it is rarely used in formal writing.
Definitions of foreign words will have a label in parentheses indicating the language: (Latin).
Contains an English sentence or phrase that illustrates the sense of the word that is specific to the definition.
If the example is a phrase, it begins with a lower-case letter. If it is a sentence, it begins with a capital letter.
Most definitions that have an example, have only one. But some have two or three.
There will be additional material at the end of some example fields, just as in some definition fields. This includes cross-references and abbreviated forms, both in parentheses.
Synonyms for a word, referring to the meaning given in the definition above it. The synonyms may contain information about how to locate the main entry for that word. The main entry word will be in brackets, along with other identifying information (e.g., ri = run-in). The part of speech will be shown if it is different from the part of speech of the synonym entry. The number in parentheses shown which definition in the synonym entry is referred to.
ENT: impromptu
SYL: im-promp-tu
PRO: ihm pramp tu
POS: adjective
DEF: thought of, made, or done without plan, preparation, or practice; spontaneous or improvised:
EXA: an impromptu performance at the piano.
SYN: spontaneous (1), unprepared (3), unplanned [plan (vt)],
unpremeditated [premeditate], extemporaneous (1), extemporized [extemporize (vt 1,2)], ad-lib
SIM: impulsive, improvised [improvise (vy)], unrehearsed [rehearse (vt)], offhand
POS: adverb
DEF: without advance plan or preparation; spontaneously:
EXA: He lectured impromptu for an hour.
SYN: spontaneously [spontaneous (1)], extemporarily [extemporary], unpreparedly [unprepared (3)], extemporaneously [extemporaneous (1)]
SIM: impulsively [impulsive], unexpectedly [unexpected], offhand
POS: noun
DEF: a short musical composition, esp. for the piano, that seems like an improvisation.
SIM: improvisation
9. SYC (Synonym Crossreferences)
Synonyms for a word, not sense discriminated (i.e., referring to the most general meaning of the word). These are generally synonyms for more than one of the meanings of the word.
10. SIM (Similar, or Near Synonym)
Not every definition will have synonyms, and there may be similars after a definition with no synonyms, as in the following example:
ENT: emerge
SYL: e-merge
PRO: ih muhrj
POS: intransitive verb
INF: emerged, emerging, emerges
DEF: 1. to rise up from or come out of a surrounding environment or substance:
EXA: A shape emerged from the mist.
SIM: emanate, issue, surface, loom {2, appear
DEF: 2. to become apparent or evident:
EXA: eventually the evidence will emerge.
SYN: develop (2), arise (1), appear (1)
SIM: materialize
DEF: 3. to come into being; develop:
EXA: Unforeseen problems emerged.
SYN: rise(9), develop (3), arise (1,3), evolve (1), come up [come (PHR)]
SIM: spring up [spring], dawn, originate, crop up [crop (PHR)]
We distinguish similars from synonyms for particular senses. Below are some of the more common similarity relations that you may find between a particular sense of an entry word and a potential similar. Keep in mind, of course, that a similar on one sense of a main entry (sense 1, for example) may still be synonym on another sense (sense 3, for example) of that same main entry. [x = similar word, y = main entry]
A. DEGREE/MANNER: Definition: x and y are similar except for degree or manner:
hit sim: wallop
sleep sim: nap, doze
take sim: snatch
cry sim: sob
cold sim: cool
B. REGISTER: This includes politeness, formality, slang usage, and various other social disgraces. Definition: x and y are similar except for differences in register:
abdomen sim: tummy
talk sim: rap
many sim: oodles
informed sim: hip
kiss sim: buss
affluent sim: loaded
This category is very slippery and requires a lot of your own judgment because the usage of informal/slang words in particular is constantly changing. The more you believe that a particular word is in the mainstream of English usage, the more tempted you may be to call it a synonym instead of a similar. For example, would you call "bust" a synonym or similar of "arrest"?
C. NEGATIVE CONNOTATION: Definition: x is similar to y but in a negative sense
copy sim: plagiarize
willowy sim: skinny
look sim: leer
encourage sim: abet
reject sim: spurn
D. CLASS INCLUSION: Definition: x is similar to y, and also x is a kind or example of y. Note that a similar of this type must satisfy both the similarity and class inclusion conditions.
adornment sim: trinket, knickknack
adult sim: man, woman
advertisement sim: commercial, notice
affix sim: prefix, suffix
abbey sim: convent
E. CONTEXT / USAGE: This is admittedly a broad and somewhat vague category, but it seems to capture the feeling you often have that one of your words is distinctly narrower or wider in usage than the other.. Definition: x and y are similar except for context or usage:
sell sim: vend, peddle
fail sim: crash
adventurer sim: flimflammer, bamboozler
affluent sim: loaded
abdicate sim: resign
abduct sim: hijack
You may notice that this relationship, which is particularly common among verbs, is analogous to the class inclusion relation ("kind of"0 discussed above for nouns. Thus, "hijack(ing)" may be thought of as a kind of "abduct(ing)," etc.
F. SIZE / AGE / MATURITY / FUNCTION: Definition: x and y are similar except for size/age/maturity/function:
plate sim: platter
hatchet sim: ax
rock sim: pebble
spike sim: nail
plant sim: seedling
chicken sim: pullet
11. SIC: (Similar Crossreferences)
Words of similar, or near synonymous meaning, not sense discriminated (i.e., referring to the most general meaning of the word). These are generally similars or near synonyms for more than one meaning of the word.
Contains an idiomatic phrase or a verb or noun phrase that is based on the main entry word. There is a colon after the last word:
break down:
take into account:
Generally there will be no more than five run-ins for any single main entry, and usually the maximum is three.
The phrase will be followed by a definition or definitions, and the definitions may be followed by examples:
......
PHR: break down:
DEF: 1. to become ineffective or unable to function.
DEF: 2. to classify or to reduce into smaller categories:
EXA: He broke the job down into separate tasks.
......
PHR: take into account:
DEF: to consider:
EXA: In thinking about a promotion, he took her experience into account.
Contains one of three types of cross reference which correspond to a definition:
1. c.r. [word]
2. Cf. [word]
3. See [word]
Type 1 indicates that the corresponding definition is a variant of another word, or a principal part of another word (specifically a verb), or a comparative or superlative form of another word (specifically and adjective or adverb).
Type 2 indicates that the user should check the indicated word for an opposing sense or antonym.
Type 3 indicates that the user should see the indicated word for the full definition, or that the indicated word is semantically related to the main entry word, but is not an antonym.
Contains a word that is a derivative of the main entry word, followed by its part of speech. If there is a variant form, it is included in parentheses. Sometimes a run-on will have more than one apart of speech. Often there will be more than one run-on for a main entry; each run-on occupies a separate field.
Examples:
absenteeism, n.
abstemiously, adv.;
abstemiousness, n.
Bahamian, n., adj.