| Electronic
resources for studying etymology. |
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Greek
inscription (mosaic) |
Here
are three online English dictionaries, each with its
own particular strengths and weaknesses.
Of
the three, the OED is the most comprehensive; as you
will discover, however, comprehensiveness can be at
odds with usability.
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| Be
sure to take advantage of the search features (booleans, wildcards,
truncation markers) available with these electronic tools —
they will make your life much easier. |
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Merriam-Webster
Online. |
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This
site contains an abridged English dictionary as well as a
thesaurus. Definitions are brief and contain a minimal
amount of etymological information. The dictionary
lookup is best used to find partial words — simply surround
the text you want to find with asterisks.
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Webster's
Unabridged Dictionary. |
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An
unabridged English dictionary with great search features.
Try the "Etymology Keyword" box, which allows
you to locate English words derived from Greek or Latin. NOTE: If
you are searching by Greek word, you must type the correct
transliterated form.
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Oxford
English Dictionary Online. |
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The
OED is not the best known English dictionary, but it is the
best — at least in terms of sheer comprehensiveness. The
great strength of the OED is that it traces the history of
each word, with examples of usage from various periods.
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If
you discover other online resources that are helpful to you,
please contact me.
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