DICTIONARIES & THESAURI In Print

Dictionaries are very important books for students. The meaning of a word is called the “definition.” They help students find the meaning of words.

Dictionaries tell you if a word is noun, verb or other part of speech. Dictionaries also help you find the correct spelling of a word. Dictionaries show you how to pronounce a word.

There are many different kinds of dictionaries. Some dictionaries are in English only. Some dictionaries have 2 different languages like English & Arabic or English & French.

Some dictionaries only have words about a special subject. For example, a business dictionary has words only about business. There are computer dictionaries, art dictionaries, medical dictionaries & many others.

For example, a list of countries with the capital cities or irregular verbs. Some dictionaries have special lists of words. Some dictionaries have pictures or photos.

At the top of each page, there are “guidewords.” A guideword tells you what the first and last words on the page are. In a dictionary, words are in alphabetical order.

Here is an example of a page with the guidewords : hundredth & hurt

Think about this example: if the first guideword is “take”... you know that “talk” will be on that page. T-A-L comes after T-A-K but before T-I. and the other guideword is “time”...

Another example: if the first guideword is “cake”... And the other guideword is “come”... Will “chocolate” be on the page ?

Yes, because “chocolate C-H” comes after “cake C A” but before “come C O.” Think of some examples using words you know.

Now we will talk about a book called a Thesaurus. What is this strange word, thesaurus? Is it a dinosaur ?

No ! A thesaurus is similar to a dictionary but it only lists words with similar meanings. By the way, the plural of thesaurus is thesauri. It is irregular.

Here is an example an entry in a thesaurus: big, large, enormous, huge These words are called synonyms or near-synonyms. They have very similar meanings. Or: small, little, tiny, miniature

Sometimes, a thesaurus also lists words with opposite meanings. For example : rich-poor expensive-cheap smart-stupid These words are called antonyms.

Words in a thesaurus are listed by the subject or idea. Sometimes the subjects are in alphabetical order. Sometimes, subjects are listed by number.

Here are 2 pages of a thesaurus with guidewords : mind & money

There are dictionaries and thesauri online from a computer. We will learn more about the databases in another Plug In lesson. From library.hct.ac.ae click on Resources, then Databases and e-books

I hope this helps you understand how to use a dictionary & a thesaurus. Read your dictionary & thesaurus everyday. These books are a student’s best friends.

Ask your teacher or your friendly librarian if you have any questions. HAPPY READING !