Reference Shelf - Dictionaries

Acronyms/Abbreviations | Dictionaries | Subject-Specific Dictionaries
Language Translators | Thesauruses

Acronyms/Abbreviations

Acronym Server
http://www.ucc.ie/cgi-bin/acronym
Online search engine for acronyms and abbreviations.

Acronym Finder
http://www.acronymfinder.com/
Online search engine for acronyms and abbreviations.

BABEL: A Glossary of Computer Oriented Abbreviations and Acronyms
http://www.cis.columbia.edu/glossary.html
Alphabetized list of acronyms and abbreviations used in computer science and engineering.

COMPENDIUM OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACRONYMS (CEA)
http://web.umr.edu/~aeg/arco/arco.html
An alphabetized list of acronyms and abbreviations used in the environmental and environmental engineering sciences. From the Association of Engineering Geologists.

DICTIONARY OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS IN GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, CARTOGRAPHY, AND REMOTE SENSING
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/abbrev.html
An alphebetized list of acronyms and abbreviations used in GIS, cartography, and remote sensing. From the U.C. Berkeley Library.

Acronyms and Initialisms for Health Information Resources
http://www.geocities.com/~mlshams/acronym/acr.htm
Acronyms and initialisms used in the health professions. Compiled by Marie-Lise Shams, MSLS, AHIP, RN.

Abbreviations and Acronyms of the U.S. Government
http://www-lib.iupui.edu/subjectareas/gov/docs_abbrev.html
Alphabetical listing of hundreds of acronyms used by the U.S. Government.

Military Acronyms and Glossaries
http://www-lib.iupui.edu/subjectareas/gov/military.html
Acronym lists and glossaries for a wide range of military and defense topics.

Dictionaries

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
http/www.m-w.com/netdict.htm
Search Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus online.

YourDictionary.com
http://www.yourdictionary.com
Featured in news media around the world, YourDictionary.com maintains a comprehensive language portal on the web with more than 2500 dictionaries and grammars in over 300 languages.

Allwords.com
http://www.allwords.com/
This site provides all definitions in English, but also the ability to search for a word in French, German, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. Additionally, there is a pronounciation file available for each English word.

Common Errors in English Usage
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html
List of words commonly used incorrectly such as ELICIT/ILLICIT, and their proper use.

Dictionary.com
http://www.dictionary.com
Search site for definitions and synonyms (thesaurus).

EurekAlert! Reference Desk
http://www.eurekalert.org/links.php
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington,DC. Links to online dictionaries in the various fields of the sciences.

Glossary of Grammatical Terms
http://www.cs.brown.edu/fun/welsh/Glossary.html
Provides an extensive list of grammatical terms and explanation of their use and context. (Brown University)

Language Dictionaries and Translators
http://www.word2word.com/dictionary.html
Links to dictionaries and translators for many different languages.

One Look Dictionaries- The Fast Finder
http://www.onelook.com/
Simultaneous search of 569 online dictionaries. (Onelook)

Subject-Specific Dictionaries

WebRef.org- Anthropology Glossary
http://www.webref.org/anthropology/anthropology.htm
A glossary of several hundred terms related to the field of Anthropology.

Artlex Dictionary of Visual Art
http://www.artlex.com/
Provides an alphabetical listing of words and definitions to more than 3,600 terms, along with numerous illustrations, pronounciation notes, quotations,and links to other resources on the Web.

Aquatic, Wetland and Invasive Plant Glossary
http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/glossary.html
Extensive alphabetical listing of terms with their definitions. (Univeristy of Florida)

BioTech Life Science Dictionary
http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/search/dict-search.html
Covers biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, cell biology, genetics, ecology, pharmacology, and toxicology.

Glossary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
http://www.portlandpress.com/pp/books/online/glick/default.htm
Search or browse for definitions of over 3000 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology terms. (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

Horticultural Glossary
http://plantfacts.osu.edu/glossary/
Search the glossary for commonly used Horticultural terms. (Ohio State University)

Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms
http://www.genome.gov/10002096
Created by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to help people without scientific backgrounds understand the terms and concepts used in genetic research. Includes pronounciation, audio information, images and additional links to related terms.

Barkley's Comprehensive Financial Glossary
http://www.oasismanagement.com/glossary/
Alphabetical list of terms and their definitions for business and finance. (Oasis Management)

FACSNET Journalist's Guide to Economic Terms
http://www.facsnet.org/tools/ref_tutor/econo_term/glossary.html
Alphabetical index of definitions to 213 economic terms most often encountered by journalists.

Investor Words
http://www.investorwords.com/
Search or browse over 5,000 definitions with 15,000 links between related terms. (Webfinance)

TIAA-CREF Glossary
http://www.tiaa-cref.org/pubs/html/financial_terms/index.html
Alphabetical index to the definitions of common financial terms

Yahoo Financial Glossary
http://biz.yahoo.com/f/g/g.html
Alphabetical list of financial terms and their definitions.

WebElements Periodic Table
http://www.webelements.com/webelements/scholar/index.html
Links from periodic table give good description of each element.

Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communication Terms
http://www.oreillynet.com/search/
Search for complete descriptions of complex terms.

FOLDOC Dictionary of Computing
http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/index.html
FOLDOC is a searchable dictionary of acronyms, jargon, programming langugages, tools, architecture, operating systems, networking, theory, conventions, standards, mathematics, telecoms, electronics, instructions, companies, projects, products, history, in fact anything to do with computing.

HTML Dictionary
http://www-math.uni-paderborn.de/dictionaries/Dictionaries/HTML-Dictionary/
List of Special Characters- entitities, ISO-8859-1- symbol support in HTML3- Greek symbols & mathematical operators.

Terms of Environment
http://www.epa.gov/OCEPAterms/
Provides a glossary of environmental terms, abbreviations, and acronyms. (EPA)

Glossary of Cancer and Oncology Terms
http://www.webref.org/cancer/cancer.htm
A glossary of terms and their definitions in the field of Oncology.

MedicineNet.com- Medical Dictionary Index
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/hp.asp
Contains easy-to-understand explanations of over 15,000 medical terms. Find hard-to-spell words in the alphabetical listing.

Merriam Webster Medical Dictionary
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9276/9276.html?k=navx408x9276

Multilingual Glossary of Technical and Popular Medical Terms
http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~rvdstich/eugloss/welcome.html
Browse or search for medical terms in nine European languages.

Onelook Dictionary
http://www.onelook.com/
Accesses 587 dictionaries for definitions.

Pharmacology Glossary
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/Dept/Content.aspx?DepartmentID=65&PageID=7797
Glossary of terms and symbols used in Pharmacology. (Boston University School of Medicine)

Duhaime's Law Dictionary
http://www.duhaime.org/diction.htm
Alphabetical index to definitions of law terminology.

Harvard Law School Library Dictionary
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/services/research/guides/united_states/basics/one_l_dictionary.php
Alphabetical list of common law terms.

International Law Dictionary and Directory
http://august1.com/pubs/dict/
Alphabetical index to international law terms.

Law.com Dictionary
http://dictionary.law.com
Search and index for the definition of law terminology.

Library Lingo
http://lu.com/odlis/
A dictionary of library and information science.

Music Dictionary
http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/
A multimedia music dictionary. (Virginia Tech)

Glossary of Physical Oceanography and Related Disciplines
http://stommel.tamu.edu/~baum/paleo/ocean/ocean.html
Provides definitions for a variety of terms and concepts used in oceanography and related fields.

Eric Weisstein's World of Physics
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics
Search and index to definitions of physics-related terms.

Glossary of Nuclear Terms
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary.html
Extensive list of nuclear terms and their definitions. (US Nuclear Regulatory Comission)

Basic Dictionary of ASL Terms
http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.html
Dictionary of American Sign Language terms providing both animated and text definitions.

Handspeak
http://www.handspeak.com/
A sign language dictionary online.

Language Translators

Altavista Translation Services
http://babelfish.altavista.com/

Dictionary.com
http://www.dictionary.com/translate/
This translator can translate an entire Web page or block of entered text. The site can translate English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish in varying configurations.

Free Translation.com
http://www.freetranslation.com
This is a free web-based translation service where you can translate foreign text online.

Language Dictionaries and Translators
http://www.word2word.com/dictionary.html
Dictionaries and translators for a wide variety of languages.

Lycos Translation
http://www.translation.lycos.com
This site can translate single words, phrases, sentences, and entire web pages in many languages.

PROMPT Online
http://translation2.paralink.com/
Includes Russian dictionaries and translators.

Thesauruses

ARTFL Project: Roget's Thesaurus Search Form
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/ROGET.html
Search the headwords or full text. (University of Chicago).

Thesaurus.com
http://www.thesaurus.com/
Word search and links to an alphabetical index and categorical outline. Provides a thesaurus and dictionary.

Wordsmyth Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus
http://www.wordsmyth.net/
A single search results in definitions and synonyms (which, in turn, are linked to their own specific meanings). Provides closest spelling matches, allows sounds-like searching, has advanced searching using word relationships and parts of speech filters.

Merriam- Webster Online Thesaurus
http://www.m-w.com/thesaurus.htm
Search by word or phrase. Links to Webster's online dictionary.

Art and Archetecture Thesaurus
http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/aat/
This site provides a controlled vocabulary that can be used to improve access to cultural heritage information in the global networked environment. Browse or search keywords.

Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN)
http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/tgn/
TGN is a structured vocabulary developed primarily for the field of art history. Geographic names from the thesaurus can be used to record the current location of the art object, its place of origin, and the sites of teh artist's birth and death. Browse or search keywords.

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