Editing Dictionary (section)

==Types==

In a general dictionary, each word may have multiple meanings. Some dictionaries include each separate meaning in the order of most common usage while others list definitions in historical order, with the oldest usage first.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/corereference/internal/chd.html |title=Language Core Reference Sources – Texas State Library |access-date=22 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425064041/http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/corereference/internal/chd.html |archive-date=25 April 2010 }}</ref>

In many languages, words can appear in many different forms, but only the [[lemma (morphology)|undeclined or unconjugated]] form appears as the [[headword]] in most dictionaries. Dictionaries are most commonly found in the form of a book, but some newer dictionaries, like [[StarDict]] and the ''[[New Oxford American Dictionary]]'' are dictionary software running on [[Personal Digital Assistant|PDAs]] or [[computer]]s. There are also many [[List of online dictionaries|online dictionaries]] accessible via the [[Internet]].

===Specialized dictionaries===
{{main|Specialized dictionary}}
According to the ''Manual of Specialized Lexicographies'', a [[specialized dictionary]], also referred to as a technical dictionary, is a dictionary that focuses upon a specific subject field, as opposed to a dictionary that comprehensively contains words from the lexicon of a specific language or languages. Following the description in ''The Bilingual LSP Dictionary'', [[lexicographers]] categorize specialized dictionaries into three types: A [[multi-field dictionary]] broadly covers several subject fields (e.g. a [[business dictionary]]), a [[single-field dictionary]] narrowly covers one particular subject field (e.g. law), and a [[sub-field dictionary]] covers a more specialized field (e.g. constitutional law). For example, the 23-language [[Inter-Active Terminology for Europe]] is a multi-field dictionary, the [[American National Biography]] is a single-field, and the [[African American National Biography Project]] is a sub-field dictionary. In terms of the coverage distinction between "minimizing dictionaries" and "maximizing dictionaries", multi-field dictionaries tend to minimize coverage across subject fields (for instance, ''[[Oxford Dictionary of World Religions]]'' and ''[[Yadgar Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesindhtimes.com/education/the-first-english-to-einglis-and-sindh-dictionary-of-computer-and-internet-terms-published/|title=The first English to Einglish and Sindhi Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms published – The Sindh Times|first=The Sindh|last=Times|date=24 February 2015|access-date=13 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011021439/http://www.thesindhtimes.com/education/the-first-english-to-einglis-and-sindh-dictionary-of-computer-and-internet-terms-published/|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> whereas single-field and sub-field dictionaries tend to maximize coverage within a limited subject field (''[[The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology]]'').

Another variant is the [[glossary]], an alphabetical list of defined terms in a specialized field, such as medicine ([[medical dictionary]]).

===Defining dictionaries===
The simplest dictionary, a [[defining dictionary]], provides a [[core glossary]] of the simplest meanings of the simplest concepts. From these, other concepts can be explained and defined, in particular for those who are first learning a language. In English, the commercial defining dictionaries typically include only one or two meanings of under 2000 words. With these, the rest of English, and even the 4000 most common English [[idiom]]s and [[metaphor]]s, can be defined.

===Prescriptive vs. descriptive===
Lexicographers apply two basic philosophies to the defining of words: [[Prescription and description|''prescriptive'' or ''descriptive'']]. [[Noah Webster]], intent on forging a distinct identity for the American language, altered spellings and accentuated differences in meaning and pronunciation of some words. This is why [[American English]] now uses the spelling ''color'' while the rest of the English-speaking world prefers ''colour''. (Similarly, [[British English]] subsequently underwent a few spelling changes that did not affect American English; see further at [[American and British English spelling differences]].)<ref name="Benson2002">{{cite book|author=Phil Benson|title=Ethnocentrism and the English Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WeuW7oy7-58C&pg=PA8|year=2002|publisher=Taylor & Francis|pages=8–11|isbn=9780203205716}}</ref>

Large 20th-century dictionaries such as the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' (OED) and ''[[Webster's Third New International Dictionary|Webster's Third]]'' are descriptive, and attempt to describe the actual use of words. Most dictionaries of English now apply the descriptive method to a word's definition, and then, outside of the definition itself, provide information alerting readers to attitudes which may influence their choices on words often considered vulgar, offensive, erroneous, or easily confused.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade|author2=Wim van der Wurff|title=Current Issues in Late Modern English|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x91EUnnWwR8C&pg=PA41|year=2009|publisher=Peter Lang|pages=41–42|isbn=9783039116607}}</ref> ''[[Merriam-Webster]]'' is subtle, only adding italicized notations such as, ''sometimes offensive'' or ''stand'' (nonstandard). ''[[American Heritage Dictionary|American Heritage]]'' goes further, discussing issues separately in numerous "usage notes." ''[[Encarta Webster's Dictionary|Encarta]]'' provides similar notes, but is more prescriptive, offering warnings and admonitions against the use of certain words considered by many to be offensive or illiterate, such as, "an offensive term for..." or "a taboo term meaning...".

Because of the widespread use of dictionaries in schools, and their acceptance by many as language authorities, their treatment of the language does affect usage to some degree, with even the most descriptive dictionaries providing conservative continuity. In the long run, however, the meanings of words in English are primarily determined by usage, and the language is being changed and created every day.<ref>Ned Halley, ''The Wordsworth Dictionary of Modern English Grammar'' (2005), p. 84</ref> As [[Jorge Luis Borges]] says in the prologue to "El otro, el mismo": "''It is often forgotten that (dictionaries) are artificial repositories, put together well after the languages they define. The roots of language are irrational and of a magical nature.''"

Sometimes the same dictionary can be descriptive in some domains and prescriptive in others. For example, according to [[Ghil'ad Zuckermann]], the ''Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary'' is "at war with itself": whereas its coverage (lexical items) and glosses (definitions) are descriptive and colloquial, its [[Niqqud|vocalization]] is prescriptive. This internal conflict results in absurd sentences such as ''hi taharóg otí kshetiré me asíti lamkhonít'' (she'll tear me apart when she sees what I've done to the car). Whereas ''hi taharóg otí'', literally 'she will kill me', is colloquial, ''me'' (a variant of ''ma'' 'what') is archaic, resulting in a combination that is unutterable in real life.<ref>[[Ghil'ad Zuckermann|Zuckermann, Ghil'ad]] (1999). [http://www.professorzuckermann.com/review-of-the-oxford-english-hebrew- Review of the Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011063925/http://www.professorzuckermann.com/review-of-the-oxford-english-hebrew- |date=11 October 2016 }}, ''[[International Journal of Lexicography]]'' 12.4, pp. 325-346.</ref>

=== Historical dictionaries ===
A [[historical dictionary]] is a specific kind of descriptive dictionary which describes the development of words and senses over time, usually using citations to original source material to support its conclusions.<ref>See for example Toyin Falola, et al. ''Historical dictionary of Nigeria'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018) [http://shcas.shnu.edu.cn/_upload/article/files/de/94/931b0247425ba03333178c9595d2/de98fbe8-46c3-487e-b684-9d5ba3760418.pdf excerpt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401062344/http://shcas.shnu.edu.cn/_upload/article/files/de/94/931b0247425ba03333178c9595d2/de98fbe8-46c3-487e-b684-9d5ba3760418.pdf |date=1 April 2022 }}</ref>

===Dictionaries for natural language processing===
{{further|Machine-readable dictionary}}
In contrast to traditional dictionaries, which are designed to be used by human beings, dictionaries for [[natural language processing]] (NLP) are built to be used by computer programs. The final user is a human being but the direct user is a program. Such a dictionary does not need to be able to be printed on paper. The structure of the content is not linear, ordered entry by entry but has the form of a complex network (see [[Diathesis alternation]]). Because most of these dictionaries are used to control [[machine translation]]s or [[cross-lingual information retrieval]] (CLIR) the content is usually multilingual and usually of huge size. In order to allow formalized exchange and merging of dictionaries, an ISO standard called [[Lexical Markup Framework]] (LMF) has been defined and used among the industrial and academic community.<ref>Imad Zeroual, and Abdelhak Lakhouaja, "Data science in light of natural language processing: An overview." ''Procedia Computer Science'' 127 (2018): 82-91 [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050918301121/pdf?md5=2501a29a5fec8aad57d82102639b8631&pid=1-s2.0-S1877050918301121-main.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222054608/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050918301121/pdf?md5=2501a29a5fec8aad57d82102639b8631&pid=1-s2.0-S1877050918301121-main.pdf |date=22 February 2022 }}.</ref>

===Other types===

* [[Bilingual dictionary]]
* [[Collegiate dictionary]] (American)
* [[Learner's dictionary]] (mostly British)
* [[Electronic dictionary]]
* [[Encyclopedic dictionary]]
* [[Monolingual learner's dictionary]]
** [[Advanced learner's dictionary]]
* By sound
** [[Rhyming dictionary]]
* [[Reverse dictionary]] ([[Conceptual dictionary]])
* [[Visual dictionary]]
* [[The Devil's Dictionary|Satirical dictionary]]
* [[Phonetic dictionary]]