International House of Logorrhea, at
The Phrontistry, a free online dictionary of weird and unusual words to help enhance your vocabulary. Generous language resources,
2 and 3 letter Scrabble words l
The Compass DeRose Guide to Emotion Words l all kinds of glossaries for
color terms,
wisdom,
love and attraction,
scientific instruments,
manias and obsessions,
feeding and eating,
carriages and chariots,
dance styles and all kinds of fun word stuff.
[more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Jan 11, 2009 -
12 comments
Wikiwords is a collaborative project to create a dictionary of all terms in all languages.
posted by anjamu
on Aug 11, 2006 -
18 comments
Merrian-Webster open dictionary "Have you spotted a new word or a new sense for an old word that hasn't made it into the dictionary yet? Well, here's your chance to add your discovery (and its definition) to Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary"
posted by robbyrobs
on Dec 11, 2005 -
22 comments
Collins Word Exchange "At Collins we pride ourselves on reflecting current language, used by real English speakers across the world."
Collins have launched a public forum designed for (amongst other things) discussing 'new' words and the legitamacy of their inclusion in official dictionaries.
Chav is probably on its way, but I'm no intellectual snob, but
bounce-backability? Even I'd balk at that one.
And, just remember kids,
flip-flopper is not valid for use in scrabble
posted by qwerty155
on Dec 16, 2004 -
8 comments
Deconstructing Dude A linguist from the University of Pittsburgh has published a
scholarly paper deconstructing and deciphering the word "dude," contending it is much more than a catchall for lazy, inarticulate
surfers,
slackers and
teenagers. An admitted dude-user during his college years,
Scott Kiesling said the four-letter word has many uses, all of which express closeness between men in a safely heterosexual manner. How about you? Do you do the dude? If so, does that mean you're
white [PDF]?
posted by owenville
on Dec 8, 2004 -
32 comments
More on arithmetic in the Amazon The 10/15 issue of Science has the official publication of Peter Gordon's work on numerical cognition among the Pirahã, and a companion article by Pierre Pica et al. on similar research among another Amazonian tribe, the Mundurukú. What with the U.S. election and the discovery of H. Floresiensis, this is not getting nearly as a much play as the pre-publication back in August of Peter Gordon's work.
Brian Butterworth has an
piece in the Guardian about both articles, and I've put some links, quotes and diagrams
here.
Compared to the reports on the Pirahã, the Mundurukú people, language, and experiments are all somewhat different, although the conclusions are broadly similar.
posted by myl
on Oct 31, 2004 -
19 comments
The
OEDILF is an audacious project which is attempting to write a limerick for
every word in the English language. 642 limericks have been completed so far.
Here's an overview of the project. Is it possible? Here's what editor-in-chief Chris J. Stolin says:
Skeptics say it's inconceivable.
A new OED? Unbelievable!
But I feel secure
That if we only endure,
It's a goal that is wholly achievable!
(via languagehat.)
posted by Vidiot
on Aug 18, 2004 -
16 comments
Qatar Home of Central Command and Al Jazzera television, it's a small oil-rich country we've all heard of, and that's the problem: I hear Qatar called
Cutter, Gutter, Katar, and Kwatar. How do the Qataris' pronounce it; is it possible to accurately pronounce foreign words in English? Who decides? More inside...
posted by Mack Twain
on Mar 29, 2003 -
32 comments
Dungeons and Dragons, bigorexia, arse-licker, bass-ackward... The online OED (Oxford English Dictionary) quarterly adds a host of new words to the canon of what has become the standard dictionary of the english language(s). Some of the new and spicey words are: arsehole, arseholed, arse-lick,arse-licker, ass-backward,
ass-backwards, bass-ackward, bass-ackwards, dragon lady,
Dungeons and Dragons, telenovela, and transgenderist!!
Thank the gods of language for these new words! So what is you favorite new word and why?
posted by mfoight
on Mar 17, 2003 -
26 comments
What do moedy, cruxtaposition, daugahyde and posolutely have in common? Don't bother looking up at dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster OnLine or britannica.com. All these words are newly made up words and only the
pseudodictionary knows them. Don't know what
NSFW means? Want to
submit a new word creation of yours? You have no clue and want to brush up your vocabulary? Try the
randomerizor and get smart!
posted by ugly_n_sticky
on Nov 10, 2002 -
21 comments
Worthless Word for the Day. Ever feel as if an "obscure, abstruse and/or recondite word" was forced into a newspaper/magazine/quote? Now there's a site that finally finds and provides wwftd! Impress your friends.
posted by geoff.
on Oct 21, 2002 -
13 comments
Logophilia Heard any good words lately? Emo, tribal marketing, google bombing, adultescent, go commando, alpha girl, hand salsa, shoegaze, alcopop, suicide magnet.
posted by andrewzipp
on Jul 9, 2002 -
24 comments
Uber-dictionary! If you're a student and get your access through a university, there's a fairly good chance the university subscribes to the Oxford English Dictionary online. Which means you get the OED too!
regardless, it's 100x the dictionary m-w is.
posted by clockwork
on Oct 18, 2001 -
23 comments
