This document discusses dictionaries and thesauruses. It provides background on the history of dictionaries, beginning with the first English dictionary created by Robert Cawdrey. It defines dictionaries and thesauruses, noting that dictionaries contain word meanings and etymologies while thesauruses contain synonyms. The document also describes different types of dictionaries, including specialized dictionaries focused on a subject and historical dictionaries documenting word development over time. It discusses prescriptive versus descriptive dictionaries and defines types of thesauruses such as general and specialized. Finally, it covers the uses of dictionaries and thesauruses for writing assistance.

1. Dictionary and Thesaurus

2. Contents
• History
• Introdction
• Difference between dictionary and thesaurus
• Types of dictionary
1. Specialized dictionary
2. Defining dictionary
3. Prescriptive VS Descriptive
4. Historical dictionary
5. single field dictionary
6. sub field dictionary
7. Dictionaries for natural language
• Types of thesaurus
• Uses of dictionary thesaurus
• Kind of information

3. History
• The word "dictionary" was invented by an Englishman called John of Garland in
1220 — he had written a book Dictionarius to help with Latin "diction". An early
non-alphabetical list of 8000 English words was the Elementarie, created by Richard
Mulcaster in 1582.
• The first book generally regarded as the first English dictionary was written as
Robert Cawdrey.

4. Introduction
• A book or electronic resource that lists the words of a language
(typically in alphabetical order) and gives their meaning, or
gives the equivalent words in a different language, often also
providing information about pronunciation, origin, and usage.
• A dictionary, sometimes known as a wordbook, is a collection
of words in one or more specific languages, often arranged
alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic
languages), which may include information on definitions,
usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc.

5. Difference between dictionary and thesaurus
• Dictionaries and thesauri are reference books for words.
• A Dictionary contains alphabetical lists of words that
includes the meaning, etymology and pronunciation.
• The thesaurus is a book that contains synonyms and
even antonyms.
• A thesaurus is a book that contains words that can be
used in place of another word.

6. Types of dictionary
• In a general dictionary, each word may have multiple meanings.
Some dictionaries include each separate meaning in the order of
most common usage while others list definitions in historical
order, with the oldest usage first.
• In many languages, words can appear in many different forms,
but only the undeclined form appears as the headword in most
dictionaries.

7. Specialized dictionary
• A specialized dictionary, also referred to as a technical
dictionary, is a dictionary that focuses upon a specific subject
field.
• e.g. (a business dictionary)

8. Defining dictionary
• The simplest dictionary, a defining dictionary, provides a core
glossary of the simplest meanings of the simplest concepts.
From these, other concepts can be explained and defined, in
particular for those who are first learning a language.

9. Prescriptive Dictionary
• Descriptive dictionaries describe the language. They include
words that are commonly used even if they are nonstandard.
• The editors will usually say that they are simply recording the
language and how its words are used and spelled. True, there
may be some guidance.

10. Descriptive Dictionary
• Prescriptive dictionaries tend to be more concerned about
correct or standard English.
• They prescribe the proper usage and spelling of words.

11. Historical Dictionary
• A historical dictionary is a specific kind of descriptive
dictionary which describes the development of words and
senses over time, usually using citations to original source
material to support its conclusions.
• It deals not only with the present-day meanings of words but
also the historical development of their forms and meanings.

12. Single field Dictionary
• A single-field dictionary narrowly covers one particular subject
field.
• (e.g. law)

13. Sub field Dictionary
• A sub-field dictionary covers a more specialized field.
• (e.g. constitutional law)

14. Dictionaries for natural language
• Dictionarie which are designed to be used by human
beings, dictionaries for natural language processing.
• The final user is a human being but the direct user is a
program.
• Such a dictionary does not need to be able to be printed
on paper.

15. Types of Thesaurus
• General
• Specialized
• Online and electronic thesaurus

16. General
• A number of general thesauri are available, including:
• Thesaurus of English Words & Phrases
• The Synonym Finder
• Webster's New World Thesaurus

17. Specialized
• A specialized thesaurus is designed for particular user groups;
discipline specific vocabularies and professional terms are
selected and arranged. A number of thesauri are available
including:
• Evaluation Thesaurus
• Great Song Thesaurus
• Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms
• Clinician's Thesaurus

18. Online and electronic thesaurus
• The online thesaurus is becoming popular due to the search
behavioral changes of users. Advantages of an online thesaurus
over print thesaurus are: search capability from multiple
reference sources including etymological dictionary, dictionary,
thesaurus, encyclopedia, web source index, and others.
• An electronic dictionary is a compact electronic device,
operated by a battery. Users can carry with them and use it
without going online.

19. Uses of Dictionary
• Dictionaries and thesauruses provide writing assistance
for writers of all levels of experience and ability.
• The important issue is that you use a dictionary of some
kind and that you understand what it can provide for you.
Whether you use a print or online dictionary, the entries
offer a wealth of information.

20. Using a Thesaurus Effectively
• Like dictionaries, thesauruses are available in both print
and online media. And as with dictionaries, the
convenience of modern technology dictates that online
thesauruses are the preferred choice of most college
students these days.

21. Kind of information
• A dictionary, sometimes known as a wordbook, is a collection of words
in one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by
radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include
information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations,
translation, etc.