Dictionary and Library Reference skills

A complete guide to use Dictionary, Book and Library

Reference skillS  

How to use a dictionary

Spelling

Pronunciation

Grammatical functions

Meanings

Dictionary

Primary Uses

Co-ordinate1 (Koh-ord-in-at) adj. equal in importance.—n.1. A co-ordinate thing.

2. (Usually coordinate) any of the magnitudes used to give the position of a point etc., e.g. latitude and longitude. –coordinates pl.n. items of women’s outer clothing that can be worn together harmoniously.—co-coordinately adv.

Co-ordinate2 (koh-ord-in-ayt) v. to bring (parts etc.) into a proper relationship: to work or cause to work together efficiently.

Co-ordination n., co-ordinator n.

Oxford dictionary search for the word

Co-ordinate

Use the following keys,

Alphabetical arrangementGuide words

How to refer a word?

Note that all entries are arranged in alphabetical order. Words are arranged according to their first letter. Words beginning with the same letter are arranged according to their second letter.

Example: address, attack

Alphabetical arrangement

Guide words

At the top of every page in a dictionary you will find two words in heavy black type. The word on the left is found as the first word on the page. The word on the right is the last word on the page. These two words are known as guide words and they guide you to the word you are looking for.

Stream [strem] n. 1. a body of running water, such as a small river. 2. A steady flow. A stream of people walked past the shop. -v. streamed, streaming, streams. To flow in a stream

Stream [strem] n. 1. a body of running water, such as a small river. 2. A steady flow. A stream of people walked past the shop. -v. streamed, streaming, streams. To flow in a stream

Each word defined in a dictionary is called an entry word. The entry word is printed in dark type.

Stream [strem] n. 1. a body of running water, such as a small river. 2. A steady flow. A stream of people walked past the shop. -v. streamed, streaming, streams. To flow in a stream

A special spelling of the word comes right after the entry. This special spelling shows the word’s pronunciation, or how to say it aloud.

Stream [strem] n. 1. a body of running water, such as a small river. 2. A steady flow. A stream of people walked past the shop. -v. streamed, streaming, streams. To flow in a stream

The letter or letters after the pronunciation tell the part of speech. Most dictionaries use abbreviations.

Stream [strem] n. 1. a body of running water, such as a small river. 2. A steady flow. A stream of people walked past the shop. -v. streamed, streaming, streams. To flow in a stream

The definition tells the meaning of the word. When a word has more than one meaning, the definitions are numbered.

Stream [strem] n. 1. a body of running water, such as a small river. 2. A steady flow. A stream of people walked past the shop. -v. streamed, streaming, streams. To flow in a stream

Some dictionaries show the inflected forms of the word.

Stream [strem] n. 1. a body of running water, such as a small river. 2. A steady flow. A stream of people walked past the shop. -v. streamed, streaming, streams. To flow in a stream

Some definitions have an example sentence that shows how the word is used.

Rearrange the following words as they would appear in dictionary.

Starvation fattycalories

Vegetarian nutrition dairy 

Protein pumpkin preserve

Pepper peel potato

Tasks

Find the guide words which will help you to look up each of the following words in the dictionary. (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

  Word Guide Words

Example: barley bargaining/barrack 1. pastry

2. sandwich 3. chips 4. noodles 5. wine

Write the full form of the following abbreviations used in the dictionary.

1. pl2. pp3. ~4. fml5. v6. adj7. N [U]8. N [C]9. prep10.sth11.sb12.Adv

Collapse 1. [1] (break into pieces and) fall down or in suddenly. The whole building collapsed. O The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. O The wind caused the tent to collapse. 2. (of a person) fall down and usually become unconscious) because of illness, tiredness, etc: He collapsed in the street and died on the way to hospital. O Collapse in a heap on the floor.3. (a) fail suddenly or completely; break down: His health collapsed under the pressure of work. O The enterprise collapsed through lack of support. O Talks between management and unions have collapsed. (b) be defeated or destroyed: All opposition to the scheme has collapsed. 4. [1] (of prices, currencies, etc.) suddenly decrease in value: share prices collapsed after news of poor trading figures. 5. (cause sth to) fold into a compact shape: a chair that collapses for easy storage. 6. (of a lung or blood vessel) (cause to) become a flattened mass: a collapsed lung.

Collapse n. [sing] 1. Sudden fall; collapsing: the collapse of the building, roof, bridge, etc.2. failure; breakdown: the collapse of negotiations, sb’s health, law and order O the economy is in a state of (total) collapse. 3. Sudden decrease in value: the collapse of share prices, the dollar, the market.

Collapsible adj. that can be folded into a compact shape: a collapsible bicycle, boat, chair.

Read the following sentences, then use the dictionary entry and complete the table below.All the buildings in the town collapsed in

the earthquake.He had pneumonia and one of his lungs

collapsed. The terrorists caused a collapse of

communications in the fishing village.The children collapsed with laughter as

they watched the clowns’ antics. The collapse of the rupee caused an

economic crisis in the country.

Sentence

Part of speech for ‘collapse’

The sentence talks about

Dictionary meaning and number for ‘collapse’

1 Verb buildings Fall down 0r cave in suddenly

2

3

4

5

Book - referring skills

publisher’s blurb preface table of

contents

chapter titles glossary appendix

index

The parts of the Book

The Pleasures of a Library

Sections of a Library

Book stacks

Reference section

Periodicals section

Magazine section

Digital section

Reading section etc

Reference Section

Book stacks

How to find books? Use the following card catalogues

Author catalogueTitle catalogueSubject catalogue

Catalogues

Author catalogue

Title catalogue

SHORT HISTORY OF ENGLISH WORDS by BERNARD GROOM 1963 422 G. 6441 6442

428.2 COMPOSITIONHILL., L.A.

WRITING FOR A PURPOSE, AN INTERMEDIATE PICTURE COMPOSITION COURSE

ILLUSTRATED BY DAVID SMITH OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1978

47 pp. HIL.

32864

Subject catalogue

DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION

From

First year Physical Science students