A.Word.A.Day - The Magic of Words

Hi All,

Today's blog post is all about words - complicated words, simple words, definitions, synonyms, antonyms and homonyms!  Its a veritable feast of 'word' information!

There are lots of definition websites on the internet - but one of the better ones is A.Word.A.Day

Visit the site by clicking on this link or the link above.

So what's so great about AWAD (A Word A Day hereafter) you ask?  Well, users can subscribe to AWAD and have an email delivered to their inbox each day with a new word and definition!  Click here for more information about subscribing to AWAD. FYI, there is a premium edition for $45/year.

Click on this link to find out what today's AWAD is. Note that each AWAD entry includes the way the word is pronounced - so that you can sound intelligent in a conversation when you use a particularly excellent AWAD . You can also listen to the way the AWAD is pronounced by clicking on the speaker icon.

The meaning of the word is included in a sentence or two.  And the etymology of the word is included; which is basically how the word came into being.  Finally, there is a section on the usage of the word - and it is included in a sentence so readers can notice the context of the word.

Users are able to make their own comments based on the entry, etymology or definition of the word.

Users can click on the AWAD Archives to find definitions of prior words.  The archive is chronological by year - and it goes back to 1994!!!!

Finally, readers can click on this 'About Us' to learn more about Wordsmith and AWAD.  You can even send them an email to ask a question, make a comment or voice your opinion.

One last thing...click on this link to find all the dictionaries that the Farmingdale Public Library has in its collections!

Enjoy the site and your newly found words!

Regards,
Stu

Because You Can Never Have Too Many Dictionaries!

Hi All,

I've been waiting for just the right time to talk about OneLook Dictionary Search.  What is it you ask?

Simple, type in a word and you'll get links to all the dictionaries that OneLook links to for the definition of the world search for. 

See link below for a search for 'bluebird'.  Results are divided into categories - general, computing, medicine, miscellaneous and more depending on the word searched for. 

Examples of dictionaries included in the search are vast - including: Wikipedia. Merriam-Webster.com, Oxford Dictionaries, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Vocabulary.com, Macmillan Dictionary, Webster's New World College Dictionary, Free Dictionary and Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 edition).

Pretty cool.  Now you can - if that is you wont - trace the definition of a particular word over time.

And, too boot...the site has a reverse dictionary. Which means you can type in a word or a phrase and a the results will b related words.....the opposite of how a dictionary works!

Enjoy the site and the definitions!

Regards,
Stu

Acronym Finder

Hi All,


Have you ever wondered what the acronym gif, or jpeg means? Or what about IMDB or LOL or MLS or IMHO or RBI or ROFL? 

Well, the one thing all these letters have in common is that they are acronyms.  They all stand for the letter of a word in the phrase.  For example...FBI stands for 'Federal Bureau of Investigation'.  And LOL stands for 'Laugh Out Loud' - usually in the context of a text message.  You get the idea.

So...with Acronym Finder you can find more than 1,000,000 human-edited definitions.  According to the site, Acronym Finder is the world's largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms.  Combined with the Acronym Attic, Acronym Finder contains more than 5 million acronyms and abbreviations. 

The site is easy to search and loads quickly. 

Enjoy the site!

Regards,
Stu

Fun, Evocative, Descriptive Words - a whole bunch of them!

Hi All,

Just wanted to post a somewhat whimsical post today since it is a fairly sunny Friday morning in mid Spring. Even more important is that it is not raining! Woohoo!

Okay...sorry 'bout that folks. I intended on posting on Friday morning, but stuff happens and well, I wasn't able to get back to the post that day.

Forthwith, some words that you might find appealing, interesting, useful, educational and lots of fun to repeat with kids and children!


UNCTUOUS
WHIMSICAL
CHERUB
GESTALT
ZEPHYR
OBSEQUIOUS
SERVILE
NUCLEAR
GACK...

and of course there are many, many others in the whole of the English language.

If you are interested in learning new words on a daily basis, you might want to subscribe to AWAD - which is an acronym for 'A Word a Day'. Essentially the site sends you the definition of a new word each day. It is not a spam site and is pretty interesting.

Click here for the link to AWAD. Oh, and it is very easy to sign up and to leave the email list.


Finally, click on this link to Dictionary.com for meanings of these words - if any of them are new to you that is...

Enjoy!
Stu

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