Dictionary Building Resources: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
== Entry Construction Tools == | == Entry Construction Tools == | ||
== Example Sentence Craft == | == Example Sentence Craft == | ||
| Line 89: | Line 54: | ||
* '''The Grandiloquent Dictionary''' — [https://www.islandnet.com/~egbird/dict/words.pdf PDF edition] — Unusual and sesquipedalian words | * '''The Grandiloquent Dictionary''' — [https://www.islandnet.com/~egbird/dict/words.pdf PDF edition] — Unusual and sesquipedalian words | ||
* '''Oxford Reference''' — [https://www.oxfordreference.com/ oxfordreference.com] — Subject glossaries (legal, theological, technical, etc.) | * '''Oxford Reference''' — [https://www.oxfordreference.com/ oxfordreference.com] — Subject glossaries (legal, theological, technical, etc.) | ||
---- | |||
=== Corpus & Usage Research === | |||
* '''Google Books Ngram Viewer''' — [https://books.google.com/ngrams Google Ngram Viewer] — Track historical frequency of words. | |||
* '''COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English)''' — [https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/ english-corpora.org/coca] — Modern American English usage patterns. | |||
* '''British National Corpus''' — [https://www.english-corpora.org/bnc/ english-corpora.org/bnc] — British English usage data. | |||
* '''Sketch Engine''' — [https://www.sketchengine.eu/ sketchengine.eu] — Advanced corpus querying tool. | |||
---- | |||
=== Etymology Research === | |||
* '''Online Etymology Dictionary''' — [https://www.etymonline.com/ etymonline.com] — Quick-reference etymology. | |||
* '''Wiktionary''' — [https://www.wiktionary.org/ wiktionary.org] — Collaborative etymology chains. | |||
* '''Perseus Digital Library''' — [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ perseus.tufts.edu] — Classical Greek and Latin texts. | |||
* '''Oxford English Dictionary (OED)''' — [https://www.oed.com/ oed.com] — Historical English dictionary (subscription required). | |||
* '''Webster’s 1828 Dictionary''' — [https://webstersdictionary1828.com/ webstersdictionary1828.com] — Early American English reference. | |||
---- | |||
=== Pronunciation Tools === | |||
* '''IPA Chart''' — [https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/content/full-ipa-chart ipa chart] | |||
* '''Forvo''' — [https://forvo.com/ forvo.com] — Crowdsourced pronunciation recordings. | |||
* '''Wiktionary Audio Archives''' — [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pronunciation commons pronunciation files] | |||
---- | |||
=== Frequency & Register Checking === | |||
* '''Word Frequency Lists''' — [https://www.wordfrequency.info/ wordfrequency.info] | |||
* '''Google Scholar''' — [https://scholar.google.com/ scholar.google.com] — Academic register reference. | |||
* '''Project Gutenberg''' — [https://www.gutenberg.org/ gutenberg.org] — Literary corpora for historical usage. | |||
---- | ---- | ||
Revision as of 05:57, 26 February 2026
Dictionary Craft Tools
A practical guide for lexicographers, wordsmiths, and neologism architects.
MorDictionary does not merely define words.
We build them. We preserve them. We refine them. We sometimes invent them.
This page collects tools, communities, and reference materials useful for crafting dictionary entries, mining example sentences, and coining neologisms.
Entry Construction Tools
Example Sentence Craft
Sentence Mining Communities
- r/SentenceMiners (Reddit)
- c/SentenceMiners (Lemmy)
Neologism Design
Neologism Communities
- Reddit — r/NeologismsHelp
- Lemmy — c/NeologismHelp
- Linguistics forums and word-creation discussion groups
Communities Pairing Dictionary Entries with Music
- Reddit — r/LexicalSoundtrack
Recommended Dictionaries & Glossaries
General Dictionaries
- Oxford English Dictionary (OED) — oed.com
- Merriam-Webster — merriam-webster.com
- Wiktionary — wiktionary.org
- Wordnik — wordnik.com
Specialized & Historical
- Green’s Dictionary of Slang — greensdictofslang.com
- Webster’s 1828 Dictionary — webstersdictionary1828.com
- Phrontistery — phrontistery.info — Obscure and rare vocabulary collections
- The Grandiloquent Dictionary — PDF edition — Unusual and sesquipedalian words
- Oxford Reference — oxfordreference.com — Subject glossaries (legal, theological, technical, etc.)
Corpus & Usage Research
- Google Books Ngram Viewer — Google Ngram Viewer — Track historical frequency of words.
- COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English) — english-corpora.org/coca — Modern American English usage patterns.
- British National Corpus — english-corpora.org/bnc — British English usage data.
- Sketch Engine — sketchengine.eu — Advanced corpus querying tool.
Etymology Research
- Online Etymology Dictionary — etymonline.com — Quick-reference etymology.
- Wiktionary — wiktionary.org — Collaborative etymology chains.
- Perseus Digital Library — perseus.tufts.edu — Classical Greek and Latin texts.
- Oxford English Dictionary (OED) — oed.com — Historical English dictionary (subscription required).
- Webster’s 1828 Dictionary — webstersdictionary1828.com — Early American English reference.
Pronunciation Tools
- IPA Chart — ipa chart
- Forvo — forvo.com — Crowdsourced pronunciation recordings.
- Wiktionary Audio Archives — commons pronunciation files
Frequency & Register Checking
- Word Frequency Lists — wordfrequency.info
- Google Scholar — scholar.google.com — Academic register reference.
- Project Gutenberg — gutenberg.org — Literary corpora for historical usage.
Collaborative Lexicography Philosophy
Dictionary-making is no longer confined to ivory towers, but maybe we should try to minimize the slop a smidge. I mean, I love Urban Dictionary, but sometimes it’s a bit much.
Let’s have fun, but let’s try to make a functional dictionary at the same time.
Philosophy
We oppose boring dictionaries.
A dictionary entry should:
- Inform
- Contextualize
- Illuminate
- Delight
A lexicon is not merely a record. It is a living archive of thought.
See Also
MorDictionary — A project of the Moribund Institute.