Dictionaries and Thesauri

Abbreviations

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations

Art

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms
The Oxford Dictionary of Art
A Dictionary of Modern Design
A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology

Business
A Dictionary of Accounting
A Dictionary of Business
A Dictionary of Economics
A Dictionary of Finance and Banking
A Dictionary of Human Resource Management
The Handbook of International Financial Terms

Classical
Greek and Latin Searching Tools
Sponsored by Tufts University, the Perseus Project includes standard Greek and Latin dictionaries, along with searching tools for finding both Greek and Latin terms in a variety of classical authors. This is an outstanding site.
Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid
Words (William Whitaker)
A basic Latin dictionary of about 27,000 entries, this site offers a tool to help in simple translations for a beginning Latin student.
The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (English-Latin)
The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (Latin-English)

English
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
This unabridged dictionary contains more than 350,000 entries, along with substantial notes on, and examples of, correct usage.
AskOxford.com
A free online dictionary resource from OUP.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
For an alternative version, see Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary at the dictionary maker's site.
~Restricted to Union College
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
For the really big words, try the unabridged Webster, unless you prefer the 2nd edition. Link to the Webster's Third New International Unabridged Dictionary near the bottom of the Chadwyck-Healey Individual Literature Collections page.
~Restricted to Union College
 
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary: 1913 Edition
Somewhat shorter than the new unabridged (maybe there were just fewer words in English in those days), this site is still useful for historical etymology.
 
The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English
Edited by Frank Abate. Available via Oxford Reference Online, the dictionary includes over 175,000 words, phrases, and definitions. "Based on a database of some 200 million words, The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English offers superb coverage of American English. Its features include thousands of concise definitions and entries, plus grammar, style, and usage notes that give guidance on correct English. Hundreds of word histories provide fascinating background to American English, and there are 3,000 biographical and geographical entries."
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Oxford English Dictionary
But for comprehensiveness, you can't beat the venerable dictionary created largely by James A. H. Murray. Not every English word is here (technical terms, for instance), but nearly every ordinary word is somehow accounted for, together with what is taken to be the first appearance in the written language of each. See also EMEDD for historical English dictionaries.
~Restricted to Union College
 
Cambridge Dictionary of American English
Cambridge International Dictionary of English
Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs
Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms
These word books are intended primarily for speakers of non-English languages, but then that might include all of us at some time or another.
 
The Early Modern English Dictionaries Databases (EMEDD)
This site offers a searchable compilation of bilingual and monolingual dictionaries published in England between 1530 and 1657.
 
The New Oxford American Dictionary
The Australian Oxford Dictionary
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary
The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary
 
The Oxford Dictionary of English (2nd edition revised)
The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary
The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms
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Etymology
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
Wordorigins.org
Wordorigins.org: Devoted to the origins of words and phrases
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French
ARTFL Project: French-English Dictionary
This simple French-English dictionary contains about 75,000 terms; translation works in both directions.
~Restricted to Union College
 
 
Collins French Dictionary
 
The Concise Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary (English-French)
Available via Oxford Reference Online, the dictionary includes 175,000 words and phrases, 270,000 translations. "Based on the highly acclaimed Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary, described by the Independent as `revolutionary', this dictionary provides an authoritative guide to French language and culture." It is compiled entirely from the evidence of large electronic text collections of French literature and language. See Also (French-English).
~Restricted to Union College
 
The Concise Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary (French-English)
 
Dictionaries d'autrefois
www.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/ARTFL/projects/dicos
This search engine looks for definitions in Nicot's Thresor del la langue fran�aise (1606) and the Dictionnaire de L'Acad�mie fran�aise (1694, 1798, and 1835).
 
The Oxford Business French Dictionary (English-French)
 
The Oxford Business French Dictionary (French-English)
For additional French-English-French dictionaries, and related word books, see Web of Online Dictionaries.


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German
Collins German Dictionary
 
The Concise Oxford-Duden German Dictionary (English-German)
Available via Oxford Reference Online, the dictionary includes 140,00 words and phrases; 240,000 translations. "Based on the highly acclaimed Oxford-Duden German Dictionary, recommended by academics, professionals, and students across the world, this dictionary provides learners at intermediate level with an authoritative guide to German and English in a concise and easy-access format. This dictionary incorporates the recent German spelling reforms throughout, and provides unrivalled coverage of general, scientific, and technical and literary vocabulary Entries bring together the essential vocabulary from specific subject areas such as the environment, society, business and industry, communication, media, and the arts." See Also (German-English).
~Restricted to Union College
 
The Concise Oxford-Duden German Dictionary (German-English)
 
English-German Dictionary
In addition to a 240,000 entry dictionary, this site features a variety of other resources for German translating. See also QuickDic Online for similar services.
For additional German-English-German dictionaries, and related word books, see Web of Online Dictionaries.


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Grammar
The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar
The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style
Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage

Irish
The Pocket Oxford Irish Dictionary (English-Irish)
The Pocket Oxford Irish Dictionary (Irish-English)

Italian
Collins Italian Dictionary
English-Italian Online Dictionary
This modest dictionary contains about 3,700 words; useful especially for travelers.
Italian-English Online Dictionary
This modest dictionary contains about 3,700 words; useful especially for travelers.
The Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary (English-Italian)
Edited by Lexus and Deborah Mazza. Available via Oxford Reference Online, the dictionary includes 80,000 words and phrases; 100,000 translations. Includes complete coverage of contemporary idiomatic Italian and English, both written and spoken. See Also (Italian-English).
~Restricted to Union College
For additional Italian-English-Italian dictionaries, and related word books, see Web of Online Dictionaries.


Law
A Dictionary of Law

Multilingual
Allwords.com
A multilingual search function allows this site to translate directly into Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
Travlang's Translating Dictionaries
This site offers a large collection of traveler's dictionaries, providing translations into multiple languages.

Myth

A Dictionary of African Mythology
A Dictionary of Asian Mythology
A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
A Dictionary of English Folklore
The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
A Dictionary of World Mythology

Names
A Dictionary of British Place-Names
A Dictionary of First Names
Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names

Quotations
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations
Credo Reference: Quotations
Search 8 titles individually or cross-search
 

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Science
A Dictionary of Animal Behaviour
A Dictionary of Biology
A Dictionary of Ecology
A Dictionary of Plant Sciences
A Dictionary of Scientists
A Dictionary of Zoology
A Dictionary of Computing
A Dictionary of the Internet
A Dictionary of Weights, Measures, and Units
A Dictionary of Earth Sciences
A Dictionary of Geography
A Dictionary of Weather
Concise Medical Dictionary
A Dictionary of Nursing
A Dictionary of Psychology
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine
A Dictionary of Astronomy
A Dictionary of Chemistry
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics
A Dictionary of Physics
A Dictionary of Statistics
A Dictionary of Weights, Measures, and Units
A Dictionary of Animal Behaviour
A Dictionary of Astronomy
A Dictionary of Biology
A Dictionary of Chemistry
A Dictionary of Earth Sciences
A Dictionary of Ecology
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics
Concise Medical Dictionary
A Dictionary of Nursing
A Dictionary of Physics
A Dictionary of Plant Sciences
A Dictionary of Psychology
A Dictionary of Space Exploration
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine
A Dictionary of Zoology

Spanish
Collins Spanish Dictionary
The Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary (English-Spanish)
Edited by Carol Styles Carvajal and Jane Horwood. Available via Oxford Reference Online, the dictionary includes 170,000 words and phrases; 240,000 translations. "Based on the highly-acclaimed Oxford Spanish Dictionary, this dictionary provides students at intermediate level with an authoritative, up-to-date guide to world Spanish. It is the only concise Spanish dictionary to present the full wealth of Spanish from both sides of the Atlantic, with coverage of 24 varieties of the language as it is written and spoken throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Thousands of real, authentic example sentences are given, which are carefully selected to illustrate the full range of meanings and typical contexts." See Also (Spanish-English).
~Restricted to Union College
The Oxford Business Spanish Dictionary (English-Spanish)
Available via Oxford Reference Online, the dictionary includes 50,000 words and phrases; 80,000 translations. Offers comprehensive coverage of core business vocabulary from a wide range of fields, including accountancy, banking, economics, human resource management, law, sales and marketing, the stock market, management, taxation, insurance, and information technology. See Also (Spanish-English).
~Restricted to Union College
For additional Spanish-English-Spanish dictionaries, and related word books, see Web of Online Dictionaries.


Specialty
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
Based on The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the principal authority on the origin and development of English words, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology contains a wealth of information about the English language and its history. Find out where the words 'bungalow' and 'assassin' came from, what 'nice' meant in the Middle Ages and much more.
Oxford Reference Online
Oxford Reference Online: The Core Collection brings together 100+ language and subject dictionaries and reference works into a single cross-searchable resource.
yourDictionary.com: Specialty Dictionaries
A comprehensive site that includes just about everything from Accounting to Wine.

Thesauri
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus
English Dictionaries & Thesauruses
The Oxford American Thesaurus of Current English
Edited by Christine A. Lindberg. Available via Oxford Reference Online, the dictionary includes 15,000 headwords, 350,000 synonyms. "This thesaurus is based on state-of-the-art research conducted by Oxford's U.S. dictionary staff using a vast database of some 200 million words. It has more than 15,000 main entries keyed to over 350,000 synonyms, with accompanying example sentences and phrases. Key entries are also supplemented by antonym lists. With clear, expert advice on grammar, usage, and pronunciation, this up-to-date thesaurus is the first place to look when you want just the right word."
~Restricted to Union College
Roget's Thesauri
This site includes links to Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition (1995), containing 35,000 synonyms and Roget's International Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases (1922), with 85,000 hyperlinked cross-references. Additionally, over 2200 quotations from classic and modern authors illustrate the 1000+ entries.
WordNet Search
This site permits searching for terms having the same meaning, the opposite meaning, or some other conceptual relationship to the searched word.
The Oxford Paperback Thesaurus

Welsh
The Pocket Modern Welsh Dictionary (English-Welsh)
The Pocket Modern Welsh Dictionary (Welsh-English)