1. Your New Best Friend: Mr. Dictionary
Etymology
Spring 2016

2. Parts of a Dictionary Definition
Word
Pronunciation
Part of Speech
Conjugation
Definition
Part of Speech Variations
Word’s Origin

3. The Word
The first part of a dictionary entry is the word itself. Usually, there are black  dots included within the word:  
ad∙di∙tive 
The black dots separate the syllables of the word, and thus partially indicate the pronunciation of the word.  

4. The Pronunciation
The second part of the dictionary entry is the pronunciation transcription.  Often, the transcription  will be included within a pair of forward slashes (//) or within parenthesis. This is the part that seems to be from a different language.  
The pronunciation will either be in the American Heritage Dictionary (ADH) form or International Phoenetical Alphabet (IPA) form. The following is the pronunciation of additive from The Concise American Heritage Dictionary (1997, p.8) in the ADH form:  
(ăd’ə‐tĭv) 
Each dictionary has a pronunciation key, usually where you would find the table of contents in most  books. The key explains how each character is pronounced and identifies the form being used. The above pronunciation is from The Concise American Heritage Dictionary  (1997, p. 8).

5. The Part of Speech
The third item in a dictionary entry  is the part of speech. There are 8 primary parts of speech.
If the word is the plural form of a  singular word, the abbreviation pl.  will be included before the part of  speech abbreviation (i.e. pl.n.).  
Part of Speech
Abbreviation
Adjective
Adj.
Adverb
Adv.
Conjunction
Conj.
Interjection
Infer.
Noun n.
Preposition
Prep.
Pronoun
Pron.
Verb v.

6. The Conjugation
If the word is a verb, the conjugation (the inflectional endings identify the tense) is included fourth.   
Additive is not a verb and thus doesn’t vary according to tense, but addle is. Its inflectional endings are included in bold: ‐dled, ‐dling. The hyphen in dicates these are ending variations.  

7. The Definition
If the word is more than one part of speech, the definitions are grouped according to the part of speech they apply to. For example, additive is an adjective and a noun, and The Concise American Heritage Dictionary groups the definitions as follows:
Adj. Involving addition –n. A substance added in small amount to something else to alter it.
When a word has multiple definitions, the definitions are numbered, such as the definition for quota:
1. a. An allotment. B. A production assignment. 2. The maximum number of persons who may be admitted, as to a nation, group, or institution.

8. The Part of Speech Variation
Have you ever wondered if you could just add an -er to the end of a word and get a noun (i.e. book reader)? The sixth part of an entry answers this question by including common parts of speech variations of the word. For example, the following is included after the definition of “ludicrous”s in The Concise American Heritage Dictionary: 
—lu’di∙crous∙ly adv. –lu’di∙crous∙ness n.

9. The Word’s Origin
Some dictionaries include the origins of a word when applicable. The format  varies but generally the language is first indicated, then the original word and  its English translation. The following provides the origins of sergeant, according to The Concise American Heritage Dictionary:  
[< L servus, slave.] 
This indicates that sergeant comes from the Latin word for slave, servus.