This document discusses dictionaries, including their history and components. It notes that: 1) The oldest known dictionaries were Akkadian empire cuneiform tablets from around 2300 BCE. Samuel Johnson's 1755 English dictionary was a major milestone as the first truly noteworthy English dictionary. 2) Modern dictionaries typically include a pronunciation guide, part of speech, definition, and sometimes examples for each entry. They also have additional reference sections. 3) Dictionaries are useful reference tools for looking up word meanings, translations, spellings, parts of speech, and more. They help expand vocabulary and ensure correct word usage. The reliability of dictionaries also makes them preferable to some online definitions.

1. Dictionary mistakenly believe Johnson to have written the first
English Dictionary is a testimony to this legacy.
A dictionary, also called a lexicon, wordbook, By this stage, dictionaries had evolved to contain
or vocabulary. It is a collection of words in one textual references for most words, and were arranged
or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, rather than by topic (a previously
alphabetically, with usage information, popular form of arrangement, which meant all animals
definitions, etymologies, phonetics, would be grouped together, etc.). Johnson's
pronunciations, and other information. masterwork could be judged as the first to bring all
A book of words in one language with their these elements together, creating the first 'modern'
equivalents in another, also known as a dictionary
lexicon. Types of Dictionaries Today
History “Book” Dictionaries
The oldest known dictionaries were Akkadian Electronic Dictionaries
empire cuneiform tablets with bilingual Sumerian– Online Dictionaries
Akkadian wordlists, discovered in Ebla (modern Syria)
and dated roughly 2300 BCE.[6] The early 2nd Parts of a Dictionary
millennium BCE Urra=hubullu glossary is the canonical Most dictionaries will begin with a Foreword
Babylonian version of such bilingual Sumerian followed by a guide to using the dictionary which
wordlists. includes information about how to find the desired
A Chinese dictionary, the ca. 3rd century BCE word. The guide will explain any abbreviations or
Erya, was the earliest surviving monolingual dictionary; symbols used in the dictionary which may be unfamiliar
although some sources cite the ca. 800 BCE to anyone who has not used that particular dictionary
Shizhoupian as a "dictionary", modern scholarship before.
considers it a calligraphic compendium of Chinese The main body of the dictionary will compromise all the
characters from Zhou dynasty bronzes. Philitas of Cos Words that the particular dictionary specializes in. The
(fl. 4th century BCE) wrote a pioneering vocabulary words are always listed alphabetically and the alphabet
Disorderly Words (Ἄτακτοι γλῶσσαι, Átaktoi glôssai) may be printed at the top of each page to help you find
which explained the meanings of rare Homeric and the word you are looking for.
other literary words, words from local dialects, and The word is usually presented with a guide on
technical terms dictionaries were compiled between how to pronounce it, how the word is classified such as
the 8th and 14th centuries CE, organizing words in a noun or a verb, a brief explanation of what the word
rhyme order (by the last syllable), by alphabetical order means and sometimes an example of the word being
of the radicals, or according to the alphabetical order of used in a sentence.
the first letter (the system used in modern European Extra Section-these can help understand the language
language dictionaries). further. It may contain a section for
The first purely English alphabetical dictionary
was A Table Alphabetical, written by English 'Punctuation Marks and Symbols',
schoolteacher Robert Cawdrey in 1604. The only 'A Guide to Punctuation and Use of Capitals',
surviving copy is found at the Bodleian Library in 'Plurals of Nouns’
Oxford. Yet this early effort, as well as the many ,’ A Guide to Letter writing and forms of
imitators which followed it, was seen as unreliable and Address',
nowhere near definitive. 'Group Names and Collective Nouns',
. Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield was still 'A Table of Alphabets',
lamenting in 1754, 150 years after Cawdrey's 'Geological Time Chart',
publication, that it is "a sort of disgrace to our nation, 'Metric Units',
that hitherto we have had no… standard of our 'Metric Conversion Tables',
language; our dictionaries at present being more 'Temperature Conversion Tables',
properly what our neighbors the Dutch and the 'Mathematical Symbols',
Germans call theirs, word-books, than dictionaries in 'Chemical Elements',
the superior sense of that title." Countries,
It was not until Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary Currencies',
of the English Language (1755) that a truly noteworthy,
'World Standard Times',
reliable English Dictionary was deemed to have been
'Distances by Air'
produced, and the fact that today many people still
'Pronunciation Key'

2. Using the Dictionary  Using the dictionary will make you wise.
look up the meaning of an English word you There’s no such thing as a walking dictionary
see or hear or encyclopaedia.
find the English translation of a word in your  Dictionaries are more reliable than some
language internet definitions.
check the spelling of a word  Familiarity of pronunciation keys and
check the plural of a noun or past tense of a abbreviations will help a person to harness
verb the full potential of dictionary.
find out other grammatical information about  Other functional information are found in the
a word dictionary some of which are the brief
find the synonym or antonym of a word description of the countries, weights and
look up the collocations of a word measurements and others.
check the part of speech of a word  Dictionary nowadays are published in specific
find out how to say a word types according to the topics or areas of
find out about the register of a word specializations.
find examples of the use of a word in natural  English language is the most studied language
language nowadays.
Reasons Why We Use the Dictionary  It is the most growing language today proof of
I. A dictionary will give you the following fact that any unabridged dictionary today has
information about a word: an average 650,000 entries.
How to spell the word and its special plural  This is due to various forms of forming words
form which English language has.
Whether or not the word is capitalized or  Yet English has only 26 letters with only 53
abbreviated sounds.
How to break the word into syllables Methods of Forming Words
How to pronounce the word  Borrowing from Other Languages
The part of speech of a word  Compounding
Different meanings that the word has, as well  Formation by Affixes
as synonyms (same meaning) and antonyms  Functional Shift
(opposite meaning)  Figures of Speech
A sentence or expression with the word used  Clipping and Back-Formation
correctly  “initial” words or acronyms
The meanings of important prefixes and  Imitation of Sounds
suffixes  “name” Words
The special uses of the word  Blending
The history of the word  Changes in Words
Other words derived from the main word  Degeneration and Elevation
II. It is good to have a dictionary handy when you are  Generalization and Specialization
reading a document.  Exaggeration And Understatement
III. A dictionary is a great companion to stretch a small  Abbreviation and Extension
vocabulary.  Metathesis and Folk Etymology
IV. A dictionary is an essential tool for writers. You have  Shifts in Association
to make sure that words are spelled correctly  Radiation of Meaning
Other Information in using the Dictionary
 The entries in the uppermost section of each
page of dictionary (words) are guides for the
user.
 The upper leftmost word is the first entry of Prepared By:
the words in the at page while the upper
rightmost word is the last entry in that page. Lourise Archie C. Subang BSEd III - Math
 The newer the dictionary the more reliable it
is.
 Oxford and Meriam-Webster are among the Submitted To:
most trusted, published and trusted brands of
dictionary nowadays. Ms. Meldy Mesias