Dictionary

Type

Dictionaries come in various sizes and flavors.

Hardcover
Softcover
Pocket sized
Desk top
Abridged
Unabridged
Student Edition
Advanced Learners’ Dictionary
Technical Dictionary
Domain-oriented Dictionary (e.g Music)
Thesaurus (in Dictionary form)
On-line Dictionary
Visual Dictionary
Free Dictionary (e.g. Wiki-dictionary)
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
Chambers’ Dictionary
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Funk & Wagnall’s Dictionary
Jones’ Pronouncing Dictionary
Bilingual Dictionary (e.g French & English)
Trilingual Dictionary (e.g Pali, English & French)
Scrabble Dictionary
Crossword Puzzle Dictionary
Rhyming Dictionary
English to Burmese Dictionary (e.g. Judson)
Burmese to English Dictionary (e.g. Judson)

Pali-English, Pali-Burmese and Pali-English-Burmese Dictionary

Coverage

A dictionary may cover

meaning
usage
etymology (origin and evolution) of words
synonyms
antonyms

Usage

One looks up a dictionary when one knows the word but is not sure of its meaning and usage.

One looks up a thesaurus when one has an idea or concept but needs to choose an appropriate word from a list of synonyms and antonyms. Dr. Mark Roget compiled a thesaurus based on his classification scheme.

Visual Dictionary and Visual Thesaurus allows one to see the relations and links of words and concepts.

With the advent of computers and Internet, dictionaries are provided in most Word Processing Systems.

Vocabulary

An early study said that an average person learns about 20 new words every year.

By subscribing to “Word of the Day” from Merriam-Webster or by listening to “Word for the Wise” from NPR (National Public Radio), one can learn 300+ new words every year.

Lexicon

The old dictionaries are also known as Lexicon. The compilers are known as Lexicographers.

Lexicon is an early card game for building words. Scrabble is a later and more popular word forming game. The word challenge in Scrabble is processed using a Dictionary (e.g. Chambers or Jones’ Pronouncing Dictionary).