Transcript Dictionary
to learn meanings of unfamiliar words to find correct spellings to find out how to correctly use a word – as what part of speech to find the pronunciation for a word to find the derivation of a word (the origins of the word ) to find the correct spellings of derivatives (root words with suffixes or other regular endings ) GUIDE WORDS two words listed at the top of each dictionary page that signal the words alphabetically listed on the page ENTRY WORDS in boldface type, gives the spelling (and is sometimes divided to show syllables) PRONUNCIATION the symbols used to show how to pronounce the word properly (the sounds the symbols represent is shown in the pronunciation key ) ( when pronunciations are labeled "for 1" or "for 2" that pronunciation should only be used for the definition with that number) ( when two pronunciations for one word have an "or" between them the pronunciations can be used interchangeably ) DEFINITION gives the meanings of the word. They are stated briefly and are numbered to separate each one. ILLUSTRATIVE SENTENCE ( or phrase ) sentence used to demonstrate how a word is used LABEL a descriptive word used to show how a word is used ( example - OLD USE or ARCHAIC tells the reader the word is not commonly used in today's speech but a definition may be necessary because the word may be used in literature ) SLANG a label used to tell the reader that the definition is for a nonstandard use of the entry word IDIOM a phrase or saying in which a special use is made of a word example - raining cats and dogs DERIVATION the origin of the entry word – where the word comes from (usually written at the end of the definition in brackets ) ABBREVIATIONS ( of parts of speech) - identify each use of a word by its function in a sentence ADJ. adjective - helps describe a noun – gives a more exact meaning ADV. adverb - helps describe a verb by giving a more exact meaning CONJ. conjunction - connects words, phrases or clauses INTERJ. interjection - independent word which expresses strong feeling N. noun - name of a person, place or thing PREP. preposition - shows relationship between noun and some other word in the sentence PRON. pronoun - used in place of noun VB. verb- indicates action or tells something about the subject PL. plural - form of a noun, adjective, or verb which indicates that more than one person, place, or thing is being spoken about in the sentence Now think of 4 words you would like to look up in a dictionary. List the guide words at the top of the page for each word, the definition, an illustrative sentence, any slang, idiom, labels, or derivations for the word and what part of speech it is.