How to Use A Dictionary

A dictionary will give you the following information about a word:

1. How to spell the word and its special plural form
2. Whether or not the word is capitalized or abbreviated
3. How to break the word into syllables
4. How to pronounce the word - the word or phrase with the pronunciation indicated through the use of diacritical marks - marks that indicate the vowel sounds such as a long vowel or a vowel affected by other sounds; accent marks, a mark called the schwa that tells you that the vowel is in an unaccented syllable of the word.
5. the part or parts of speech the word functions as -for example as a noun (n.), verb (v.), adjective (adj.), or adverb (adv.).
6. Different meanings that the word has, as well as synonyms (same meaning) and antonyms (opposite meaning)
7. A sentence or expression with the word used correctly
8. The meanings of important prefixes and suffixes
9. The special uses of the word
10. the origin, or etymology, of the word or words, such as from the Latin, Old French, Middle English, Hebrew, the name of a person. Some dictionaries use the symbol < to mean "came from." For example, the origin of the word flank is given as "<Old French flanc<Germanic."This tells us that flank came from the Old French word fanc. The French word in turn came from the German language. Some dictionaries use abbreviations to tell you where the item came from: OE for Old English, L for Latin, and so forth.
11. Other words derived from the main word

Special sections in some dictionaries tell you about:

1. Foreign words and phrases
2. Abbreviations
3. Addresses of colleges or government offices
4. The population of cities and countries

Applying the following pointers will save time when you use a dictionary:

1. Know and use proper alphabetical order
2. Use guide words to save time
3. Check all abbreviations and symbols in the special sections
4. If at first you don’t succeed in finding the word, don’t give up. You might need to check several possible spellings before finding the word
5. Substitute the meaning you find for the word in the sentence. Be sure you select the most appropriate meaning, not merely the first one you come to
6. Try saying the word aloud after you look at the pronunciation key.
   
   
   
   
   Sources: http://www.ctl.ua.edu/CTLStudyAids/StudySkillsFlyers/VocabularyDevelopment/how2useadictionary.htm
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5evDp9wKk2o
   http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/504.HTM