Talk:dictionary

Hi,

I was just wondering why my definition was removed and replaced by the previous one. Any explanation would be gratefully received.

H — This unsigned comment was added by Heathclif1984 (talk • contribs).

Probably in order to further the causes of Anglo-American imperio-capitalism. Kappa 02:21, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

Precisely.

1. Replace definitions arbitrarily.
2. ?
3. Profit.

Rod (A. Smith) 06:15, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

I'd prefer the Dimitri Martin joke of just having this definition be: "You're an asshole"

I agree.

— This unsigned comment was added by Dennis (talk • contribs).

I would like to third that notion

what does "temporarily" mean?

You could try looking it up? Jonathan Webley 20:14, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

e vs. ε in US pronunciation

Regarding the second-to-last vowel of the IPA guide (ˈdɪkʃənˌ_ɹi), I was wondering why the 'e' that I had placed in the word was reverted to the 'ε'. In the audio file, the person pronouncing the American variant says: dick-shun-air-ee. If she truly is saying dick-shun-er-ee, then I'd be glad to leave it as it is, but while it seems that other dictionaries may give a pronunciation such as the latter, I as a speaker of American English have never heard such a pronunciation, and the audio file given does not give such a pronunciation either.

So, other than other dictionaries written by language purists, can anyone give any indication that the word is ever pronounced the way currently presented, with e. Or is the intent of Wiktionary to dictate how individuals should and should not pronounce a word, rather than trying to describe how they actually do?172.130.91.117 23:24, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Aye... I've found the same inconsistency between the audio pronunciation and the IPA transcription in the word 'Wiktionary', but I cannot edit that page. :-(.Esdraelon 23:59, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

It is an 'ε' in American English. The speaker may be trying to speak a little too carefully, but she’s saying 'ε' (dick-shun-ehr-ee, not dick-shun-air-ee). I’ve never heard a pronunciation with 'e' in my whole life. —Stephen 00:25, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

Did you also listen to the Wiktionary clips? They are both pronounced with the 'e'. This considered, I think both pronunciations should be included. (In fact, some Americans even pronounce the t as a separate sound, but we won't get into that).Esdraelon 00:49, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I listened to it. As I explained, she may have tried too hard to pronounce carefully, but it is not an 'e', it is an 'ε'. I have lived in many cities and states across the continental U.S. for over 60 years and I know how we say it. The pronunciation with 'e' is clownish and nobody says it that way. —Stephen 01:09, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

You say you have background in linguistics, but I don't buy it. No one with such a background would consider calling someone else's pronunciation clownish. My pronunciation and that of the people around me could very-well be simply a regional variation, and you are in no position to demean it.Esdraelon 03:26, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

It’s not "someone else’s" pronunciation, it’s the pronunciation that somebody might use if they wanted to talk like a clown. It is not an American dialect. You’re trying to change 'ε' to 'e' to make us sound silly. Instead of trying to describe how we talk, describe instead the pronunciations used in your own country. —Stephen 03:32, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

Calling my pronunciation clownish does not aid the discussion. Accusing me of being "intentionally wrong" for shits and giggles also does little to further resolution, and is in violation of the good faith policy. To say that my dialect is not American despite me being a native speaker of U.S. English is also not helpful to the discussion. Calling me a clown, more likely than not, will not help you prove your point, instead it will simply get you reported for abusing Wiktionary personal attack policies. If my variation does indeed represent a larger regional dialect, then it should be included. Trying to figure out if my variation is representative of a larger regional dialect does not begin with you calling it clownish. As an Administrator, you should know better.Esdraelon 05:42, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

I do not believe for a moment that that’s your pronunciation and I didn’t accuse you of being "intentionally wrong" and I didn’t call you a clown. I said it’s not American English pronunciation and that people only pronounce words that way when they’re trying to be a clown. If you were born and raised American, then what city are you from? Upload a sound file with your pronunciation. —Stephen 06:00, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

I am listing both. The Cambridge Dictionary gives: /ˈdɪk·ʃəˌner·i/ (Cambridge Dictionaries Online). Unless someone can show good reason to doubt the Cambridge Dictionary, this pronunciation should be included. (Bearnfæder (talk) 23:33, 4 October 2014 (UTC))

It seems strange that Cambridge hears the US pronunciation as /ˈdɪkʃəˌneri/ but Oxford believes it to be /ˈdɪkʃəˌnɛri/ in America. I wonder if they have different conventions for representing the sound? ( ... or do the Americans that Cambridge listens to never open their mouths more than a tiny fraction?) Are there regions of America that pronounce it /ˈdɪkʃəˌne̞ri/? The US audio file sound like /ˈdɪkʃənɛɹi/ to me. Dbfirs 07:33, 6 October 2014 (UTC)

Their standards do indeed appear different; Cambridge transcribes all /ɛ/ as /e/, perhaps on some sort of theoretical grounds. I noticed this peculiarity while referencing my copy of the Cambridge Pronouncing Dictionary today. Webster does still seem to regard the -ar- of dictionary as identical to 'air' Webster Pronunciation Guide (PDF) (two IPA equivalencies are given for their transcription \er\: [eɚ] and [ɛɚ], though I find both a little unlikely in the case of dictionary)—see the entry here: Dictionary—, but I have removed the alternate pronunciation that I previously added until the difference can be shown to be actually valid instead of a mere consequence of competing transcription theories. Bearnfæder (talk) 17:15, 12 October 2014 (UTC)

Yes, Cambridge on-line seems to be alone in giving /ˈber.i/ at the pronunciation of berry (similarly ferry etc). Dbfirs 10:15, 16 October 2015 (UTC)

hyphenation

According to an email I received, American Heritage and Random House dictionaries say "dic-tion-ar-y", while Webster's has "dic-tio-nary". --223.75.12.213 23:59, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes, some words can be hyphenated in more than one way, and different dictionaries may prefer one way over another. Another example is service, which can be hyphenated ser-vice or serv-ice. The basis for hyphenation is still the same for all American dictionaries ... it is based on pronunciation (syllable boundaries). British hyphenation is different, being based on morpheme boundaries. —Stephen ^(Talk) 05:36, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

RFV discussion: February–March 2020

The following information has failed Wiktionary's verification process (permalink).

Failure to be verified means that insufficient eligible citations of this usage have been found, and the entry therefore does not meet Wiktionary inclusion criteria at the present time. We have archived here the disputed information, the verification discussion, and any documentation gathered so far, pending further evidence.
Do not re-add this information to the article without also submitting proof that it meets Wiktionary's criteria for inclusion.

---

dictionary

Sense 4: intransitive: "To appear in a dictionary". Presumably usage would look like: "apple dictionaries under the letter A". I did find a sentence in GBooks saying that "...headingless writer could equally be dictionaried under autobiography..." but that is transitive, and thus covered by the other sense "to add to a dictionary" — though I've seen people make the mistake where they would create a sense like this (challenged) one to try to cover such a passive-mood citation. Equinox ◑ 08:07, 25 February 2020 (UTC)

I did manage to find one cite (by Ezra Pound, no less):

• 1938, Ezra Pound, Culture, page 323:

  Metadidomi dictionaried also as the “giving a share”.

And I found one cite that is ambiguous (is it active or passive?}, but I have not yet found a third. Kiwima (talk) 21:03, 25 February 2020 (UTC)

RFV-failed Kiwima (talk) 11:02, 28 March 2020 (UTC)