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Latest comment: 10 hours ago by Chuck Entz in topic Are compass directions comparable?

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Welcome to the Information desk of Wiktionary, a place where users can ask questions about words and about Wiktionary, ask for help, or post miscellaneous ideas that don’t fit in any of the other rooms.

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How to specify irregular verbs in pre-existing templates with no documentation?

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I wanted to add a verb-inflection table for the Gujarati verbs લેવું and દેવું (slightly irregular) and also હોવું (very irregular) but the existing inflection tables for verbs (gu-conj-c an gu-conj-v) has absoloutely no documentation and as a beginner, i wouldnt know how to deal with this. So i need help figuring out how to edit the templates individually maybe or create a new one by editing pre-existing ones maybe. Karajarati (talk) 15:10, 2 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Hello everyone !

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I think this is it. The ultimate webpage or connecting with knowledge and people. So underrated. F social media. Ancientnames (talk) 17:18, 7 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

@Ancientnames: Hi! Hope you decide to stick around and contribute. Ioaxxere (talk) 22:52, 7 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Identifying words as Jargon

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How to identify words as jargon or specific to professionals? Source? 2600:387:F:6111:0:0:0:5 02:40, 13 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

The fact is that most of the claims in Wiktionary do not have sources and for many of the claims that are pretty trivial to source (e.g. that aid comes from Old French and assistance comes from Latin) tend to be added to the dictionary without any pushback. In the case of a lot of jargon and senses that apply to only a narrow context, it's usually just taken for granted, but if you are concerned about justifying a word or the sense of a word as jargon, the best way to do that is probably with citations below the definition(s). See WT:EL for more details. If you're asking how to mark that a certain term or sense is itself jargon, we deleted a category explicitly for "jargon" as a class and you can mark that a word or sense is used a particular way in a particular context with {{lb}}. See, for instance synergy, where specific meanings for systems theory or physiology or pharmacology are marked with labels like {{lb|en|systems theory}}. —Justin (koavf)TCM 02:51, 13 October 2025 (UTC)Reply
@Koavf ok, what more? 2600:387:F:6111:0:0:0:5 04:27, 13 October 2025 (UTC)Reply
? —Justin (koavf)TCM 05:59, 13 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Usage of semicolons in definitions/glosses

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Howdy! I'm unable to detect a pattern on when to use a semicolon over a comma in entries like these: speco, kuketo, ŝajni. I could not find any guidance in WT:STYLE, WT:EL or my limited search in WT:BP. Is there any guidance? Thank you! TranqyPoo (talk) 03:02, 16 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

ura

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Hey, the Lord of the Rings is called in Hungarian A Gyűrűk Ura [1]. Does anyone know why it's ura (single possession) and not urai (multiple possessions)? Is it an archaism? Or do I get something wrong? 88.133.12.118 11:54, 20 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Courtesy link for anyone who didn't notice from the header above that it leads to "úr", not "ura". —Justin (koavf)TCM 13:26, 20 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

"Everyday" quote issue

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The 2003 quote from Robert Pack for the noun form of everyday seems to me to be using "everyday" as an adjective modifying "concerns". It could technically be using "everyday" as a noun and still make sense, but in context it seems to be intended as an adjective. I'm not sure it fits as an example of the word's use as a noun. Tibia mariner (talk) 01:24, 24 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

I agree with you. It's okay (and encouraged) to make edits like this. For any edit of this nature, it is highly advised to review its Talk and History pages to identify any reasoning. When removing material, it's best to provide your reasoning in the edit summary, so that it can be discussed further if needed. For extra due-diligence, you may mention the user who added the quote in your edit summary (in this case, Flāvidus). As a personal example, see the 3 most recent edits for lerneja. TranqyPoo (talk) 02:28, 25 October 2025 (UTC)Reply
I have restored the quotation you removed and moved it to the adjective instead. J3133 (talk) 03:50, 25 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Plural only noun and not plural only noun

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I was adding an entry to oses that it can be a plural of ose. However, it already had an existing plural only definition (for -ose sugars). Now it still says plural only at the top but that's only true for one of the definitions. How should I split them up? Pithon314 (talk) 23:02, 25 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Not only that, but "oses" 2. says it's the plural of "osar", and at "osar" it says the plural of "osar" is "osars" with no mention of "oses". Sdiabhon Sdiamhon (talk) 00:38, 27 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

How to sort the list of Hebrew patterns?

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The current list of Hebrew patterns has around 40 different entries, and they're unsorted, making finding a particular one rather tedious. How can it be sorted? Sdiabhon Sdiamhon (talk) 00:34, 27 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Request to delete the meaning of Bikia

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The spelling From Old Norse bikkja, from Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ.is not spelt as Bikia. This is misleading to the public as the name Bikia is widely used by many people.Bikia pronounced Bikya which stems from India is an Avatar of the Goddess Laxmi known as the Goddess of Prosperity and fertility. Bicja (talk) 19:38, 27 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

No. We don't remove entries just because you do not like them. — SURJECTION / T / C / L / 20:34, 27 October 2025 (UTC)Reply
I'm requesting the meaning of Bikia being removed because it is not the old Norse word use for female dog. You can clearly see the spelling is different. If Wiktionary is a reputable and trusted information site then you should provide the correct information to the public. Bicja (talk) 21:18, 27 October 2025 (UTC)Reply
Do the right thing, your information on Bikia was supplied by a Bot that makes mistakes and you should correct the mistake. Bicja (talk) 21:20, 27 October 2025 (UTC)Reply
You're grasping at straws here. No one said it was Old Norse- it's Old Swedish. It wasn't created by a bot, either. Wiktionary is not censored, and the coincidental similarity to a word in a completely different language and script is a really dumb reason to do so. Chuck Entz (talk) 05:23, 28 October 2025 (UTC)Reply
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Do we have a template that will convert spaces in words to the URL %20? It would be very useful for citing multiword terms in dictionary reference templates (e.g. {{R:cy:Gweiadur}} where I at one point though {{urlencode}} would do it).

While I'm at it, I'd also like to check the suitability of inserting URLs for related websites into book references. Specifically, every entry in the books {{R:cy:CECP1}} and {{R:cy:CECP2}} can be found on the Bywiadur website, because they are all published by the same organisation. So far, the URL for this website is in the templates for these books even though the site is not limited to the contents of these books. Arafsymudwr (talk) 19:25, 28 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

On IPA transcription of rhotic vowels in GA vs RP

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I noticed that on the page for vicarious, both the Received Pronunciation & the General American pronunciations use /ɛəɹ/. if I am not mistaken, this is only true in RP, as in GA it is pronounced /ɝ/. if that is true, then why isn't the GA and RP pronunciations split in words that use /ɛəɹ/? Also, in GA, should /ɛr/ or /ɝ/ be used?

Thank you for your time. Quavix621 (talk) 03:09, 2 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

This general issue has been discussed before (Wiktionary:Beer parlour/2024/July#Transcriptions of the nurse vowel, Wiktionary:Beer parlour/2024/February#Changes from /ə(ɹ)/ or /əɹ/ to /ɚ/, etc) and we have so far eluded coming to a clear decision on whether to prefer V+diacritic or V+ɹ. Each option (/ɜɹ/ vs /ɝ/) has arguments for it, including that we almost never notate /ɑ˞/ or /ɔ˞/ (it's always V+ɹ) so /ɜɹ/ and /əɹ/ would be consistent with that, and would also require positing fewer phonemes / using fewer symbols. - -sche (discuss) 03:24, 2 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

appoint and disappoint

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My German friend asked me (very indirectly) why isn't "disappoint" the opposite of "appoint"? I could only say "IT MEANS POINT LIKE IN PUNKT AND PUNCTUATION", and make a guess that "appoint" is putting somebody in a POINT which is a place or role! So I obviously went to désappointer and thence appointer: there is no French sense that convinces me "this is the opposite of disappointment". Somebody convince me. How is "appoint" really like "disappoint"? 2A00:23C5:FE1C:3701:780C:E197:3C9:DD44 22:51, 3 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

Apparently in Middle English it meant to dispossess someone from an office, which is sort of the opposite of appoint. I'm not sure how that ended up with the current meaning. Chuck Entz (talk) 05:26, 4 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

Wo (falconer's call)

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Hi, not sure how else to mark that this meaning doesn't appear to come up anywhere. For wo (English meaning), it states "A falconer's call to a hawk." I can't seem to find this anywhere online. Page at wo#English. Thanks! 2A02:C7E:5F26:A100:9137:C35C:8842:C86F 22:25, 7 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

The proper procedure would be to add {{rfv-sense}} to the line in question, and post it to Requests for verification/English. This was added 19 years ago when our Criteria for inclusion were different. It looks like it came from the Oxford English Dictionary. Here is the entry in an out-of-copyright edition]. You'll note that it's part of longer utterances like "wo ho"- these can be found here and there in older books and in poetry (Sa ho-sa ho-wo ha, Sa ho-sa ho-wo ha (quoted cries not in Shakespeare), wo ho ho Wo ho ho. I could be wrong, but I don't think that would be enough for the single word. Chuck Entz (talk) 00:42, 8 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

Perms for my new account

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Hi, I started a new account, going by Dijacz. Can I get the same perms on there as I have on this account? For all intents and purposes, it's just a username change. Same person, same domain of specialization. And I'm getting tired of having to do captchas every other edit because I'm adding a dictionary reference to an entry or something. Also page moving perms as well. Thanks. Insaneguy1083 (talk) 05:07, 8 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

Are compass directions comparable?

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Adverbs north / south / west / east are all currently set to (not comparable).
But shouldn't they use {{en-adv|+further}}?
As in "Latvia lies north of Lithuania, but Estonia lies further north than Latvia." -Vuccala (talk) 12:42, 10 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

Yes. "Furthest north" is used as well. Theknightwho (talk) 22:57, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
@Theknightwho okay thanks, and for adding it as well. I asked because, seeing as no one added it in 15 years – felt more likely to be my error than everyone else's oversight. Vuccala (talk) 17:56, 12 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
FWIW, there is a comic strip called "Sherman's Lagoon" (https://www.google.com/search?q=%22sheman%27s+lagoon%22) that played on this years ago, using the comparative for humorous effect -- talking about geese migrating "souther" (relative to the speaking character's current position). ‑‑ Eiríkr Útlendi │Tala við mig 18:13, 12 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
@Vuccala I added it to the corner directions too, but it feels weirder to say things like "furthest north-west", so it says "usually not comparable" for those ones. Theknightwho (talk) 18:14, 12 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
User:Eirikr oh yeah, I remember reading that one in the Sunday newspaper color comics! User:Theknightwho affirmative! Done Done Vuccala (talk) 20:31, 12 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
I would say it's comparable, but differently in different senses: further north really means "at a greater distance from the equator in a northerly direction", while other wording would be used to say that the direction from some point is closer to true north- it's the difference between distance and direction. For instance, someone who traveled twice as far from a certain point toward the northwest is further north than someone who went due north, even if the second person's direction of travel is 45° more north than the first person's. The directional sense doesn't seem as natural as the distance sense, so I doubt it's used much. I would use "more northerly" or "more to the north" instead, for the most part. Chuck Entz (talk) 04:33, 13 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

"Lua error: too many expensive function calls" on some words

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It's my first time seeing this error and I cannot seem to find a fix for this, for example in 日 - Wiktionary, the free dictionary KlahrinzWBC (talk) 19:04, 10 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

I noticed that today on that same character. I looked through the Grease Pit for mentions of the error message, and found CAT:E, where it and several other common Han characters are listed. A link there then led me to WT:Lua_memory_errors. From all of this I concluded it's a known and permanent problem. Hiztegilari (talk) 13:58, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
As WT:Lua memory errors says, that page is somewhat historical, because the main problem it was/is documenting was resolved — entries exceeding the Lua memory limit. "Too many expensive function calls" is a different problem; one possible cause of and solution to at least some cases is discussed at Wiktionary:Grease pit/2025/October#lots of links to nonexistent files in 王. - -sche (discuss) 21:23, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
Not strictly true. See WT:Grease pit/2025/October#lots of links to nonexistent files in 王. @Wpi changed the code to check if every image in a module actually exists, instead of the shortcut way used before. Each of those checks involves an expensive parser function call, and these entries were already close to the limit on those. @Benwing2 suggested a possible fix, but Wpi never responded- presumably because they didn't have the time or expertise to figure out an implementation. Pinging @Theknightwho to see if they have any ideas.
By the way, the Lua memory problem itself was solved for us by an increase in the memory limit, but there are other ways that these huge single-character entries push the limits, so a is pretty much permanently in CAT:E (mostly due to using too much script-execution time), and there have been others briefly ending up there (again, due to execution time). Pages in the Appendix namespace have gone over the expensive-parser-function limit from time to time, but those can be fixed by splitting them into smaller pages. Chuck Entz (talk) 21:48, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
Actually, I've tried changing the module to using the batch lookup function, but it turns out that each page still counts as one expensive parse function call because they are an NS_MEDIA which calls .file.exists for each page instead of .exists. – wpi (talk) 02:43, 12 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

Malay & Indonesian: Help needed regarding the automated recognition of affixed terms

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Hi @GinormousBuildings, @Sponge2490, @Rentangan, @TNMPChannel, @Xbypass.

Can you help Mickaël with his question?

How to apply affixes to plural? I would guess it should be applied to the very first term:

"buku-buku" -> "PREFIXbukuSUFFIX-buku"

"terung-terung ungu" -> "PREFIXterungSUFFIX-terung ungu" Renek78 (talk) 05:34, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

Affixes on reduplicated words like is just treat the base as a single word like "menakut-nakutkan", but if it is SOP like "terung ungu" it is as stated TNMPChannel (talk) 05:49, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

Hi! Can someone help me?

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I'm trying to make a number menu as seen in for example English entry eight or German entry acht, but for numbers in Ket (since we don't have that yet.) Can someone help me? Chrysanthemum1319 (talk) 13:41, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

You have to create Module:number list/data/ket. Here is an example of a simple module in which every number is specified separately. With further Lua knowledge, you can e.g. automatically create twenty-one from twenty + one. — SURJECTION / T / C / L / 14:12, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
Thank you, but how can I specify whether or not a term is animate-class or inanimate-class in the code? Plus, can I show counting forms of numbers? Chrysanthemum1319 (talk) 14:13, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
It's going to need a more complex design, not really sure off the top of my head. — SURJECTION / T / C / L / 15:23, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
I've made it like this: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Module:number_list/data/ket, but it doesn't show multiplicative and counting forms. How can we fix this? Chrysanthemum1319 (talk) 16:15, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply
One probably has to use additional_number_types, something like this right under local numbers = export.numbers:
export.additional_number_types = {
	{key = "counting_form", after = "cardinal"},
	{key = "multiplicative", after = "distributive"},
}
SURJECTION / T / C / L / 17:43, 11 November 2025 (UTC)Reply