Poll: My favorite dictionary is:
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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May 20, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "My favorite dictionary is:".

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Angus Stewart
Angus Stewart  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:26
Member (2011)
French to English
+ ...
Digital/online May 20, 2018

With a digital/online dictionary it is possible to include so much data than with a physical/hard copy dictionary, although I still have copies of three of my favourite physical/hard copy dictionaries that I have retained as a back up solution in the event that I should lose my internet connection for an extended period of time.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:26
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
I don't have a favorite May 20, 2018

I love them all. I still have a couple hundred hard- and soft-bound dictionaries and many of them are more exhaustive than the ones online. And some don't exist online. On the other hand, there are some wonderful glossaries online that were never published in hardcopy.

Here are some examples of why I may not use the online dictionaries:

The hardcopy version of Roget's thesaurus is deeply indexed by nuances of meaning, taking you directly to what you're trying to say. I
... See more
I love them all. I still have a couple hundred hard- and soft-bound dictionaries and many of them are more exhaustive than the ones online. And some don't exist online. On the other hand, there are some wonderful glossaries online that were never published in hardcopy.

Here are some examples of why I may not use the online dictionaries:

The hardcopy version of Roget's thesaurus is deeply indexed by nuances of meaning, taking you directly to what you're trying to say. I find the online version very unsatisfying. I use them both, but I much prefer the hardcopy version.

The online index for consulting Dorland's medical dictionary is so cumbersome that I can find my answer more quickly if I open up the real book.

One has to learn which versions work best in each situation. There's no way of generalizing.
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DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
the fastest May 20, 2018

I prefer the fastest, which is electronic/online.
However, sometimes I still enjoy looking through the dictionary from a random page on...


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 21:26
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I don't have a favorite May 20, 2018

I’m very fond of dictionaries. I don’t collect them, but many times when I see a dictionary, I can’t help buying it. So, over the years, I invested a considerable amount of time and money buying dictionaries. I had many (on the hundreds) but I sold and gave a lot of them away when I moved from Brussels to Lisbon into a smaller apartment, though I still have dozens. I admit that some haven’t been touched for years (except to dust them every so often), but it’s kind of comfortable having... See more
I’m very fond of dictionaries. I don’t collect them, but many times when I see a dictionary, I can’t help buying it. So, over the years, I invested a considerable amount of time and money buying dictionaries. I had many (on the hundreds) but I sold and gave a lot of them away when I moved from Brussels to Lisbon into a smaller apartment, though I still have dozens. I admit that some haven’t been touched for years (except to dust them every so often), but it’s kind of comfortable having them around like old friends…

dictionaries
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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:26
Spanish to English
+ ...
In general May 20, 2018

I prefer the immediacy of online dictionaries. However, I am rather fond of my Alcaraz legal dictionary, which has helped me out on many occasions when online searches didn't.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:26
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Digital, no preference May 21, 2018

I haven't had paper dicionaries for quite a few years. When I still had them, they were getting dusty and full of spider webs. There is absolutely nothing you can find in a paper dictionary that you won't find in the web ten times faster, and usually a more recent version.

 
JaneTranslates
JaneTranslates  Identity Verified
Puerto Rico
Local time: 17:26
Spanish to English
+ ...
Muriel beat me to it. May 21, 2018

Roget's International Thesaurus. Its topical arrangement makes it so much richer a resource than any alphabetical listing. Nothing online compares to it.

--Jane


 


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Poll: My favorite dictionary is:






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