Reading Benissimus’s post about the dictionary made me wonder…are there any Latin/English dictionaries on Textkit? I looked up in the “Learn Latin” section (of the site, not of the forum ), but I didn’t see one.
I could neither find any Latin Dictionaries nor any Greek Dictionaries on Textkit.
I really like using William Whitaker’s WORDS dictionary which you can download for use on your computer.
http://users.erols.com/whitaker/words.htm<br />
Textkit doesn’t have any dictionaries (to my knowledge). The fact is that it probably doesn’t need any either. There are many good dictionaries on the net and that you can easily and cheaply afford (it’s not like a textbook where you might be deprived of them in certain areas). A dictionary would be a lot of work; just think about poor Jeff and his kids scanning 1000+ pages, just to produce something which is already abundant
Good point. Besides, I’d rather have Jeff slave over his copier/scanner/computer doing the Greenough Beginner to Intermediate Latin Reader. ;D
On the other hand … if it happens to be the Oxford Latin Dictionary, then sure why not? That would be most excellent! ;D ;D ;D
Sure why not? I’ll be about 100 when that thing is public domain (assuming no further copyright law changes) and Jeff will be about 130. But what the heck?
I forgot to ask you earlier … is the Oxford Latin Dictionary a Latin to English dictionary only? Or does it also have an English to Latin section?
I was at Borders bookstore today and found a large English to Latin dictionary (no Latin to English section). I don’t remember the name of it, but it is NOT an Oxford, however it was kinda reminiscent of an Oxford in that the layout was similar with its small print and its three or four columns per page.
I’m afraid it is only Latin-English, but it is very nice. It is much like most English dictionaries in that it shows etymology (my favorite part of the dictionary ) It’s interesting because it shows Oscan, Umbrian, Greek, Sanskrit, sometimes Etruscan, and other Indo-European languages’ cognates and derivatives, which are very interesting. Sadly, I cannot carry it around everywhere I go, so I am parted from it for the weekend while I am away from home
Really! Now that’s really cool! I would really love to take a closer look at this book. I have yet to stumble upon this dictionary at one of the larger bookstores. But I know that even if I do, it’ll probably be boxed up or shrink wrapped so people can’t browse through it.
Sadly, I cannot carry it around everywhere I go, so I am parted from it for the weekend while I am away from home
Sure you can! Stick it in a large bag and carry it with you. You’ll kill two birds with one stone … it’ll also mean you won’t have to join a gym for weight training. ;D
Thanks for the link, Mariek! It’s most helpful!
Yes, William Whitaker’s WORD dictionary is really handy. I have it installed on my computer at home and also on a couple of computers at work. It’s only a Latin to English lookup. Sometimes I wish there was something similar for English to Latin lookups. But that’s not going to be an issue soon. I placed an order for a 2nd dictionary – no, it’s not the OLD – which should arrive in a week or so. This means I can keep one dictionary and home, and the other at work. Sometimes I just prefer to do things the old fashioned way… with a book! The only thing I have to decide is which one stays home and which one stays at work.
Which dictionary did you buy as your ‘second?’
wow! I just downloaded WORDS and it is so great! Why didn’t I discover this sooner??? Is it in the Outside links forum yet??
[quote author=MDS link=board=6;threadid=731;start=0#7195 date=1064810890]
Which dictionary did you buy as your ‘second?’
[/quote]
I chose Cassell’s Latin Dictionary. It was one of the dictionaries recommended from the Latin Dictionaries thread, here : http://www.textkit.com/greek-latin-forum/viewtopic . php?t=232;start=0
Do you think I should keep this one at home or at work?
Yes, I am looking at purchasing that one myself.
I would keep the one you feel is better, wherever you get the most work done.
[quote author=klewlis link=board=6;threadid=731;start=0#7200 date=1064811386]
wow! I just downloaded WORDS and it is so great! Why didn’t I discover this sooner??? Is it in the Outside links forum yet?? [/quote]
Hmm… I know this has been mentioned many times in various discussion threads, but I don’t think it has been mentioned in Outside Links, so I just posted it there.
I posted it when that forum had just opened. It’s sunk to the back page so it’s no big deal if you duplicated it.
It’s worth duplicating.
I’ve got a feeling that Words is going to be very useful to me…I’m getting to the point where I want to start reading Latin! I’ve been progressing much more rapidly now, but I’m still not reading anything other than their little sentences. Jumping in at the deep end (I was thinking of a copy of the Confessions of St. Augustine I found somewhere in Latin…) is getting more and more tempting.
The beauty of WORDS is that it’s a small simple low-overhead application. And I can do quick lookups on my computer while at work without having to look like I’m not doing work. For all my boss knows, it could be an Rconsole window … it’s really hard to tell from a short distance. ;D
What I really should do is figure out what all the abbreviations mean. I’m referring to all the columns that appear after the words.
The other good thing about Words is that you can type in a word with the endings and it still gives you a meaning. Some of those 3rd Dec. verbs have such irregular perfect tense endings it is hard to know what to look up. I have guessed from my knowledge of how the sounds changed (ie “reg-si” becomes “rexi”) but I can still guess totally wrong at times!
Mariek - you will become familiar with the abbreviations as you get further into Latin as they are all quite sensible; it is a bit difficult though when you are faced with “subj” and you haven’t done subjunctives yet. I must be progressing with my university course because I can now understand everything I see in Words - a good sign. Speaking of links - I did email Jeff a complete page of links I did some time ago but there may have been technical problems putting it on the site. If anyone wants it just let me know.
I was going to make a list of the abbreviations just now, but then I realized how many of them there would be and a different set for each part of speech. Parsing is such a bore… so you’re on your own