Re: Seeking accessible offline dictionaries
- From: "G.W. Cox" <gwcox2@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2005 13:57:20 -0700
I wasn't at all offended and if I wish to reply privately, I can do so.
Since it is in that popular applications group, I assume that it was
scripted by FS. It works fine with Jaws. As far as pronunciation goes, I
can't attest to what I was thinking at the time I installed it, but
perhaps I figured their synthesizer is but another synthesizer.
The Latin verb to which you refer is "spirare". The dictionary has
etymology but you have to interpret it carefully and some symbols just
don't work. That's at the end of this.
In spire (in sp#rÆ), v., -spired, -spir ing.
-v.t.
1. to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence: His
courage inspired his followers.
2. to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire
confidence in others.
3. to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.: to
inspire a person with distrust.
4. to influence or impel: Competition inspired her to greater efforts.
5. to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does:
They were inspired by a belief in a better future.
6. to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural influence:
writings inspired by God.
7. to guide or control by divine influence.
8. to prompt or instigate (utterances, acts, etc.) by influence,
without avowal of responsibility.
9. to give rise to, bring about, cause, etc.: a philosophy that
inspired a revolution.
10. to take (air, gases, etc.) into the lungs in breathing; inhale.
11. Archaic.
a. to infuse (breath, life, etc.) by breathing (usually fol. by
into).
b. to breathe into or upon.
-v.i.
12. to give inspiration.
13. to inhale.
[1300-50; ME inspiren < L insp#r!re to breathe upon or into, equiv. to
in- IN-2 + sp#r!re to breathe]
-in·spir·a·tive (in sp#rÆÃ tiv, inÆspi r!Åtiv), adj.
-in·spirÆer, n.
-in·spirÆing·ly, adv.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Yardbird" <yardbird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2005 1:12 PM
Subject: Re: Seeking accessible offline dictionaries
Hi Jerry,
Sorry if you're offended by my having intruded to ask these questions
when
you wish to be communicating only with the other person, but thanks all
the
more for bearing with me.
You don't say how accessible the normal functions, reading and searches
are
with jaws, but as you didn't complain, I'll assume it works with jaws.
As far as the pronunciation goes, there are times when I'm curious to
hear a
conventional pronunciation of an unfamiliar word, and I don't at all
trust
Jaws to know how to phonetically parse many such things. Once I'm sure
of
the predominant pronunciation, *then* I can tweak the Jaws dictionary to
say
the word as I want it to. But I don't think there are words I don't
know
yet that Jaws knows how to pronounce. That's been my experience, so
far. I
don't hold it against Jaws. I enjoy playing with the dictionary to
invent a
spelling that will get Jaws to say things correctly. That's a fun
challenge.
Last, I was amused by your digging up "yardbird" from the dictionary,
but
I'm a little surprised, given the dictionary's virtual heft and the fact
that it's American, for there to be no mention that this was the (very
famous) nickname of the great jazz saxophonist, Charlie Parker.
Honestly,
that isn't culturally esoteric, not by a long shot. But whatever, as we
say.
One last question: Thinking of other sorts of words, not slang like
that
one, does the thing provide etymology, or not? You didn't say. You
know
what I mean? Say, take the word "inspire." An etymology would explain
that
the word's derived from the prefix "in" plus the Latin "spirar," to
breathe
(and therein is the earliest meaning of the word, the idea that a
brilliant
insight or creative idea was gotten by metaphorically or actually
breathing
in the spirit and the breath of the gods), and from there it would
relate
those syllables (morphemes, actually) to their earlier origins in
earlier
languages and language groups, back to proto Indo-European, where you
could
see more connections.
Does it have this sort of stuff? This isn't an academic question. A
good
dictionary always includes etymology, and it doesn't have to be big
enough
to need a stand in a library for that.
Thanks again.
----- Original Message -----
From: "G.W. Cox" <gwcox2@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2005 11:25 AM
Subject: Re: Seeking accessible offline dictionaries
Firstly, I was responding to Pranav, but that's OK.
My guess is it is the equivalent of those behemoths that libraries put
on a pedestal. If you look in popular applications with Jaws in the help
menu, you'll find it under Random House. There is another one which I
believe is like the collegiate and coupled with a thesaurus.
I don't know how well the pronunciation works. I think I may not have
installed that since I would have Jaws running anyway.
As far as looking up a word, I got as far as y a r d b and it echoed
back yardbird for this definition--
bird (yärdÆbûrdÅ), n. Slang.
1. a convict or prisoner.
2. an army recruit.
3. a soldier confined to camp and assigned to cleaning the grounds or
other menial tasks as punishment for violation of the rules.
[1940-45, Amer.; YARD2 + BIRD, by analogy with JAILBIRD]
I guess the only detraction may be that some phonetic symbols translate
poorly in Jaws.
Jerry
----- Original Message -----
From: "Yardbird" <yardbird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2005 11:55 AM
Subject: Re: Seeking accessible offline dictionaries
Jerry,
I just took a look at the listing online, and it does appear to be more
the
sort of "serious" dictionary" of which several different versions are
sitting in one of my bookcases, untouched except for dusting for more
years
than I care to enumerate at this point. So far, so good but, and here
there
may be a Catch-22, I'm aware-- do you have experience with this, using
Jaws?
If so, how accessible is it in most of its uses, except of course for
the
illustrations? Does the search function work okay with Jaws? Do the
definitions read and navigate all right? Does the pronunciation feature
speak without conflicting with Jaws or being silenced by its presence?
Thanks a lot.
----- Original Message -----
From: "G.W. Cox" <gwcox2@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2005 10:34 AM
Subject: Re: Seeking accessible offline dictionaries
I believe you meant Francis. The one I'd talked about was the Random
House Webster's Unabridged at
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/results.pperl?title_auth_isbn=webster%27s+unabridged+dictionary
It is the CD version, about $20 and the equivalent of the 2,256-page
hardcover.
Jerry
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pranav Lal" <pranav.lal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2005 9:37 AM
Subject: Re: Seeking accessible offline dictionaries
Jerry,
The description states:
How does this compare to a standard dictionary? Well, a standard
desktop dictionary contains about 110,000 words with definitions and
is about 800 pages.
However, the UTD also includes sentences using each defined word in
context, for every "sense (meaning)" of the word.
PL] Is this feature in the demo? If yes, I cannot find it. Try the
following words
hubris
Bowdlerize
definition
exquisite
Finally, the lookup word combo box does not seem to support copy and
paste? I have tried pasting text into it and nothing happens.
Pranav
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pranav
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