Dictionary SkillsDictionary Skills

Members:1. Goh Teck Song2. Lee Yu Wei3. Suhaily Binti Ramlan4. Raja Nor Wafiah Binti Raja Abdullah

a reference book containing words, usually alphabetically arranged along with information about their forms, pronunciations, functions, and meanings.

a reference book listing terms or names important to a particular subject along with a discussion of their meanings. A sample sentence is often included.

A dictionary is…

Dictionaries: guidebooks; They tell how words are used by people. It is a reference book. It gives information about words.

Dictionaries have new words like Internet, login, and website and old-fashioned words like “steed” which means horse. Some dictionaries have special purposes like a medical or a sports dictionary.

Dictionaries are arranged alphabetically.

Types of Dictionaries

Unabridged: Not shorten; complete; a large, extensive dictionary that is not based on a larger edition. The unabridged English dictionaries attempt to contain all words in the English language.

Abridged: to abbreviate; to lessen in length; to shorten by using fewer words but keeping the main contents. An abridged dictionary contains words in common use.

Kinds of Dictionaries

science, geographical, law, sports, biographical, rhyming, medical, picture

Let’s take a closer look!

How to use a dictionaryHow to use a dictionaryStep 1Know the alphabet very well and

know where the letters

Example: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S U V W X Y Z

Step 2

Think of the word to look up.  Then open the dictionary to as

close to the first letter or two of the word as possible. 

Then either turn back or forward to find the word.

Step 3To help the search, dictionaries have

guide words to help.  Guide words are at the top of each page. 

The first guide word is the first word on a page, and the second guide word at the top of the page is the last word on the page. 

Using the guidewords, you should find the word you a looking for easily.  It will be between the words.

An up close look at a dictionary ENTRY…

liberate lifelong

guide words

(lye-brer-ee) noun

1. A place where books, magazines, newspaper, tapes and videos are kept for reading or borrowing.

li-brar-y

We have a great reference section in our library.

entry

sample sentence/phrase

Part of speech

The numbers show the many definitions a word may have.

noun, plural libraries, noun, librarian

illustration

Phonetic symbols

Dictionary SkillsDictionary SkillsDefinitions

Many words have several meaning and most dictionaries list the oldest meaning first.

The first symbol in this part of the entry is “•n ‘’.

The first definition shows how the word is used to name a person, place or thing (noun)

For example:

Dictionary SkillsDictionary SkillsAdditional Information In the Dictionary A lots of information in each entry, but also

contain extra information in sections at the beginning or the end.

At the front, there is an essay and a guide designed to help users understand the various kinds of information listed after each headword.

At the end of the dictionary, there some extra sections or appendices.

List of abbreviation and phonetic symbol written in the cover page.

Dictionary SkillsDictionary SkillsThe Meaning of the Entry Word Look at the meaning of the word. CARPENTER A worker who builds or repairs wooden structures

or their structural parts Word appears a second time – discover the

abbreviation “vb” indicating that this word is to be used as a verb.

Simply insert the entry word where you see the swung dash (~)

“~tered” He has carpentered for six years

Dictionary SkillsDictionary SkillsSynonymssome dictionary entries also provide

a list of synonyms (syn), words with similar meanings.

The choice of synonyms is not as good as in a Thesaurus.

Using synonyms found in the dictionary can be helpful, not only for finding an alternate word, but also for increasing your understanding of a new word.

Dictionary SkillsDictionary Skills

Cross - referencesSome dictionary entries contain

cross-references. Within the entry, you will find the

word “see”, “compare”, or “ var of ” that directs you to another dictionary entry which will give you more information about the word you first looked up.

References

Anonymous. (2008). Retrieved 27 June, 2012 from

http://www.tlsbooks.com/dictionaryskillsreview.html

Anonymous. (1998). Dictionary Skills. Retrieved 22 Jun, 2012

from http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/academic/english/

diction/module1.pdf.

Barry & Scholes,A.( 2001) Collins Junior Dictionary Skills.

London, England: Harper Collins Publisher Ltd

Wright, J.(1998). Dictionaries: Resources Books for Teachers, Oxford

English. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press