Chapter Thirty-Nine Using the Dictionary

Using the Dictionary The dictionary is a valuable tool. To take advantage of it, you need to understand the main kinds of information the dictionary gives about a word: Spelling Syllabication Pronunciation Parts of Speech Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs Plural Forms of Irregular Nouns Meanings Etymology Usage Labels Synonyms

Spelling The first bit of information, in boldface, is the spelling of murder. You probably already know the spelling of murder, but if you didn’t, you could find it by pronouncing the syllables in the word carefully and then looking it up in the dictionary.

Syllabication The second bit of information, also in boldface, is the syllabication of murder. A dot separates the syllables.

Pronunciation The third bit of information is the pronunciation of murder. You probably already know how to pronounce murder, but if you didn’t, the information here would serve as your guide.

Parts of Speech The next bit of information is the part(s) of speech of murder. Murder can function both as a noun (n.) and a verb (v.).

Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs When it functions as a verb, murder is a regular verb: it forms its principal parts by adding -ed, -ed, and -ing to the stem (murder). When the verb is irregular, the dictionary will lists its principal parts.

Plural Forms of Irregular Nouns When it functions as a noun, murder is a regular noun: it forms the plural by adding -s (murders). When the noun is irregular, the dictionary will supply its plural forms.

Meanings When a word has more than one meaning, the meanings are numbered, usually with the most common meaning listed first. According to this entry, the verb murder has three distinct meanings.

Etymology Etymology refers to the origin and historical development of a word. Such information is usually enclosed in brackets. OE here stands for Old English: murder derives from the Old English morthor. Consult the list of abbreviations in your dictionary as necessary.

Usage Labels If a word is not standard English, your dictionary will probably give it a usage label like these: slang; informal; nonstandard; vulgar; obsolete; etc. This entry provides one slang meaning for murder. (Remember that you should as a rule use only standard English words in your writing.)

Synonyms A synonym is a word that is close in meaning to another word. Using synonyms helps you avoid unnecessary repetition in your writing. A good desk dictionary will provide synonyms for many words; you can also consult a thesaurus, a book that lists synonyms and antonyms (words that are the opposite in meaning).