Definitions are an attempt to characterize the ‘meaning’ or sense of a lexeme and to distinguish the meaning of the lexeme contrasted with the meanings of other lexemes in the same semantic field, for example the ‘elephant’ from other large mammals. In this context one should note that academic research into semantics has not yet been able to come up with a system for the description of meaning (cf. The main function of a definition is to explain the meaning of a word. The definition of a lemma is the central component of a monolingual dictionary. Important American English dictionaries include A Dictionary of American English on Historical Principles (DAE), Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary or A Dictionary of New English (DNE).Īdditionally, various monolingual dictionaries for special purposes like collocations, idioms or phrasal verbs have been published. The most popular monolingual dictionaries of the British English-speaking world are the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE), the Collins Dictionary of the English Language (COLLINS) and the COBUILD English Language Dictionary (COBUILD). Lemmata are linguistic units like words or phrases. These lexical entries are usually composed of a lemma and its description. Describing Meaning in Monolingual DictionariesĪ monolingual dictionary primarily consists of lexical entries in a specific language, sorted in alphabetical order. A special emphasis will be put on monolingual dictionaries and their approach to bringing meaning across to learners of English, who naturally draw on a limited vocabulary and thus may require innovative methods for the description of meaning. The following paper will discuss which methods dictionaries use to describe meaning. Monolingual dictionaries, however, need to find ways to adequately and comprehensively describe meaning, with different target groups in mind. They simply state the translation for a lexical unit.

Bilingual dictionaries have an easier time facing this challenge.

Readers of dictionaries may have different backgrounds of knowledge and a distinct vocabulary, so their understanding of definitions may vary greatly. The biggest challenge for dictionaries usually lies in the latter: the description of meaning.

Cruse defines dictionaries as follows: “An ordinary dictionary characterises a lexical item in three distinct, though intimately inter-connected, ways: first, its form (graphic and phonological) second, its grammatical function and third, its meaning.” (1986: 1) Describing Meaning in Bilingual Dictionaries Describing Meaning in Monolingual DictionariesĢ.2 Intensional or Extensional DefinitionsĤ.

Collins monolingual english dictionary