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Dictionary Use

Words in a dictionary are listed alphabetically. Guide words at the top of each page indicate the first and last entry words on that page. The entry word defines the word being searched for, and provides its spelling, pronunciation, part of speech, meanings/definitions, and other details like origins, synonyms, and irregular spellings. A pronunciation key at the end explains the phonetic symbols used for each sound in the entry words.

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225 views

Dictionary Use

Words in a dictionary are listed alphabetically. Guide words at the top of each page indicate the first and last entry words on that page. The entry word defines the word being searched for, and provides its spelling, pronunciation, part of speech, meanings/definitions, and other details like origins, synonyms, and irregular spellings. A pronunciation key at the end explains the phonetic symbols used for each sound in the entry words.

Uploaded by

esmeralda0385
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dictionary Use – Tutor Hints

Words in a dictionary appear in alphabetical order.

Guide Words: These are the words in bold at the top


of each page that help to locate an entry word.
• The first guide word is the first word on the
page.
• The second guide word is the last word on the
page.
• The words listed in between the first and last
are in alphabetical order beginning with the first
guide word and ending with the last guide word
on that page.

Entry Word: This is what we call the word we are in


search of. Here is what we can learn from a dictionary entry:
¾ the spelling of the word
¾ the number of syllables – a syllable is a unit of sound. The word “hello” has two (2) syllables or
units of sound: hel · lo
¾ the part of speech – every word is a part of speech.

n - noun v - verb adj. – adjective adv. - adverb


prep. - preposition pro. - pronoun conj. - conjunction interj. - interjection

¾ irregular spellings – some words have unusual spellings when they are used in certain ways.
Example: Know - knew
¾ definitions – This is the meaning of the word; there may be more than one. Definitions are
arranged by part of speech.
¾ synonyms – These are words that have the same or a similar meaning as the entry word.
¾ word history (also called etymology)– these are shown in brackets. This tells us from which
language the word was derived.
¾ the pronunciation and phonetic spelling – This is where you learn how to pronounce the word by
sounding it out. Below is a pronunciation key.

Pronunciation Key
ă – hat ā – pay âr – care ä – card ĕ – ten ē – she ĭ - sit
ī – hi îr – here ŏ – pot ō – go ô – paw oi – oil ou - out
oo– look oo – cool yoo – use ŭ – cut ûr – fur th – thin th - this
hw – which zh – vision ə – ago, item, easily, gallon, circus

Here is a sample dictionary entry. Look at the pronunciation of anxious in the parentheses. Notice that
the A in anxious sounds like the A in hat in the key above:
Anxious (ăngk΄ shəs) adj. 1. Uneasy and apprehensive about an uncertain event or matter; worried. 2.
Attended with, causing or showing anxiety; spent an anxious night waiting for the test results. [From Latin
ānxius, from angere, to torment. - anx΄ious • ly adv. - anx΄ious • ness n.

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