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Have you checked out Wiktionary? It provides a dynamic interface, lots of options for descriptions/definitions/synonyms, and means for requesting additional lexicographical tools. BB<div><br><div><div>On May 17, 2008, at 11:50 AM, bolstar1 wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><div id="ygrp-mlmsg" style="width: 655px; position: relative; font-size: 13px; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; "><div id="ygrp-msg" style="width: 470px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 25px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; z-index: 1; line-height: 1.22em; "><div id="ygrp-text" style="line-height: 1.22em; font-family: Georgia; "><p style="line-height: 1.22em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><snip><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">This is another reason, amongst many, I'm waiting with bated<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">breath for a true e-reference world. And this, not merely to be able<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">to append (via link-clicks) cursory treatments of single-word<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">definitions, but to include pronuciation (words stressed within<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </sp
an><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">phrases, as opposed to words in isolation), etymologies, regional<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">variations, frequency evaluation, degrees of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">emotion/emphasis/<wbr style="line-height: 1.22em; ">vulgarity/<wbr style="line-height: 1.22em; ">politeness, appropriateness in differing<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">contexts, exemplative and real-world uses, synonyms and synonymous<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">phrasing (e.g. `(get) angry' = 1) see red 2) go through the roof<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">3) (be) as mad as a hornet 4) have a hissy fit 4) lose one's<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">cool/one's temper...the list goes on and on.). Linked backgrounds of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">proverbs, allusions, and aphorisms would be an alleviation of a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">source of angst and puzzlement amongst learners, especially in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">humorous contexts.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">As a simple example, when dictionaries list `model', definitions<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">include words like: good example, pattern, paradigm, prototype, rule,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">epitome, ideal, exemplar. This often begs the question of the meaning<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">of the original word. Synonyms naturally are relied upon. But one<span class="Appl
e-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">rarely finds corresponding phrasal equivalents or examples (much less<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">with with usage notes and pronunciation)<wbr style="line-height: 1.22em; ">.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">In the following example, various phrases could be substitute<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">for `model', often assuming the rhetorical form of "allusion": 1)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">the gold standard of...; the bench mark' (or benchmark) of...' (model<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">for physical, qualitative, or quantitative measuring) 2) a `fairy-<br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">tale story' (model of ultimate success story) 3) `the flag bearer<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">of...' (model of performance; leadership) 4) `a living legend'; `the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">stuff of legend'; `the pin-up girl of...'; `the poster boy<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">of...'; "If there ever was a (something), he is it."; </p></div></div></div></div></span></blockquote><br><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="back
ground-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><div id="ygrp-mlmsg" style="width: 655px; position: relative; font-size: 13px; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; "><div id="ygrp-msg" style="width: 470px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 25px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; z-index: 1; line-height: 1.22em; "><div id="ygrp-text" style="line-height: 1.22em; font-family: Georgia; "><p style="line-height: 1.22em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><snip><br style="line-height: 1.22em; "><br style="line-height: 1.22em; ">Scott Nelson<br style="line-height: 1.22em; "><br style="line-height: 1.22em; "></p></div></div></div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Georgia" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><br></span></font></div></span></blockquote></div><br></div>
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