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Dictionaries Dictionaries are very useful research tools. They help us define terminology and provide us with grammatical information, parts of speech information, variant spellings, usage notes, and word etymology. The type of dictionary that most people are familiar with is an abridged dictionary.    The Random House Webster's College Dictionary is an example of an abridged dictionary. An abridged dictionary only lists and defines the most common words in a language. This is an American English language dictionary, so it only defines words used by English speaking Americans. If we have questions on how to use a dictionary we can turn to the front of the dictionary and there you will find usage guidelines. When looking for information on genetically engineered foods in the other modules we often came across the word, "transgenic." This word may not be familiar. In order to use the word properly in our research paper we may want to consult a dictionary. Looking in the Random House Webster's College Dictionary we find the following entry for "transgenic:" The other type of standard dictionary is known as an unabridged dictionary. Unabridged dictionaries claim to list and define all the words used in a language.   The Random House Unabridged Dictionary is a popular example of an unabridged dictionary. These dictionaries are very large and bulky and are usually found on a special dictionary stand in the library. An unabridged dictionary also provides us with a much more detailed introduction and teaches us more about the language. Here is the entry for "transgenic" found in the Random House Unabridged Dictionary: In this case it looks basically the same as the abridged dictionary definition. However, at the end of the definition we see (1980-85). This tells us the date the word entered the language. Most dates are expressed as a spread of years since most words do not enter the written language the same year they are first spoken. It appears that "transgenic" is a relatively new word. The granddaddy of unabridged dictionaries is the Oxford English Dictionary. It has 20 volumes and is the definitive dictionary of British English.   The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has a very extensive introduction on vocabulary and word usage. We will even find a history of the dictionary. The OED also provides an extensive history of each word: when it entered the language and how it has been used through the centuries. This is known as the etymology of a word. The OED does not list the word "transgenic," rather it lists the word as "transgenosis." The OED lists the word as first appearing in 1973 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, volume LXX (70), on page 723. In addition to these traditional dictionaries there are numerous other types as well. For example, let's say that we can identify something by sight but don't know what it is called and want to locate a definition. A regular dictionary would be of no use to us in this situation. But a picture dictionary would solve our problem.   The Ultimate Visual Dictionary is just one example of a picture dictionary. It arranges items visually and points out the words associated with each item. For example, below is an entry for Islamic buildings which includes a brief overview and words pointing to every aspect of the building. Once we find the word we can then go to a regular dictionary and look up the definition. Many standard dictionaries do not include slang and more objectionable words used in the language. However, there are dictionaries whose sole purpose is to define these words.   The Wicked Words dictionary provides definitions for a wide assortment of "unacceptable" words. Below is the definition for the word "fart." The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang is just one example of a slang dictionary which defines words used by people every day that are not officially recognized in standard dictionaries.