Re: [tlug] Off-topic: Dictionaries

[bruce@example.com]

> Michael Engel wrote:

>> Hello.
>> As you were just talking about dictionaries, please allow me to ask
>> you a question.
>>
>> What functions do you use with online dictionaries [I know "search"
>> :-)], which ones do you really like and which ones would you like to
>> have and have never been implemented.

One click reverse lookup for each definition associated with an entry.

When I look up a term and think a definition might be want I want, I do a
reverse lookup on the candidate definition(s) to make certain I've chosen
one with the right meaning and nuance.

This is particularly important when you are dealing with a dictionary or
individual entries that bias towards one of the two languages, with many
words in one language mapping into a smaller number of terms in the other.
 It tends to be a problem with "niche" language dictionaries (like the
Hawaiian dictionary I use on my zaurus) that aren't as complete or in
demand as those for more main stream languages like Japanese and English
where more eyes have had a chance to review and improve their quality.

I'm currently trying to update my dictd client to automate some of the
work but I'd love to see more web based dictionaries offer the same
functionality...it's a huge time saver when you are translating text!

Cheers,
Bruce