Transcript PLUG-INs Information Literacy @ Fujariah Colleges DICTIONARIES

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
also help you
find the correct
spelling of a
word.
Dictionaries
tell you if a word
is noun, verb or
other part of
speech.
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.
Some
dictionaries
have pictures or
photos.
Some
dictionaries
have special
lists of words.
For example, a list
of countries with
the capital cities or
irregular verbs.
In a dictionary,
words are in
alphabetical order.
A guideword
tells you what
the first and last
words on the
page are.
At the top of
each page,
there are
“guidewords.”
Here is an
example of a page
with the
guidewords :
hundredth & hurt
Think about this
example: if the
first guideword
is “take” . . .
and the other
guideword is
“time” . . .
you know that
“talk” will be on
that page.
T-A-L comes after
T-A-K but before
T-I.
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,
subjects are
listed by
number.
Sometimes the
subjects are in
alphabetical
order.
Here are 2 pages of
a thesaurus with
guidewords :
mind & money
There are
dictionaries and
thesauri online
from a computer.
From
library.hct.ac.ae
click on
Resources , then
Databases and
e-books
We will learn
more about the
databases in
another Plug In
lesson.
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 !