Reverse dictionary

Last updated

A reverse dictionary is a dictionary alphabetized by the reversal of each entry:

Contents

kcots (stock)
kcotseid (diestock)
kcotser (restock)
kcotsevil (livestock)

Before computers, reverse dictionaries were tedious to produce. The first computer-produced was Stahl and Scavnicky's A Reverse Dictionary of the Spanish Language, in 1974. [1] The first computer-produced reverse dictionary for a single text was Wisbey, R., Vollständige Verskonkordanz zur Wiener Genesis. Mit einem rückläufigen Wörterbuch zum Formenbestand, Berlin, E. Schmidt, 1967.

Definition

In a reverse word dictionary, the entries are alphabetized by the last letter first, then next to last, and so on. [1] [2] In them, words with the same suffix appear together. This can be useful for linguists and poets looking for words ending with a particular suffix, or by an epigrapher or forensics specialist examining a damaged text (e.g. a stone inscription, or a burned document) that had only the final portion of a word. Reverse dictionaries of this type have been published for most major alphabetical languages.

Applications

Applications of reverse word dictionaries include:

Construction

Reverse word dictionaries are straightforward to construct, by simply sorting based on reversed words. This was labor-intensive and tedious before computers, but is now straightforward. By the same token, reverse dictionaries have become less important since online word lists can be searched dynamically.

Examples

English

Online

Physical

  • Normal and Reverse Word List. Compiled under the direction of A. F. Brown at the University of Pennsylvania, under a contract with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AF 49 [638]-1042) Department of Linguistics, Philadelphia, 1963.
  • Lehnert, Martin, Rückläufiges Wörterbuch der englischen Gegenwartssprache, VEB Verlag Enzyklopädie, Leipzig, 1971.
  • McGovern, Una, Chambers back-words for crosswords: a reverse-sorted list, Chambers, Edinburgh, 2002
  • Muthmann, Gustav, Reverse English dictionary: based on phonological and morphological principles, Mouton de Gruyter, New York, 1999.
  • Walker, John, The rhyming dictionary of the English language: in which the whole language is arranged according to its terminations, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1983.

Other Languages

Akkadian

  • Hecker, Karl, Rückläufiges Wörterbuch des Akkadischen, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1990.

Albanian

  • Snoj, Marko, Rückläufiges Wörterbuch der albanischen Sprache, Buske Verlag, Hamburg, 1994.

Czech

  • Těšitelová, Marie; Petr, Jan; Králík, Jan. Retrográdní slovník současné češtiny, Praha, Academia, 1986.

Dutch

  • Nieuwborg, E.R., Retrograde woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal, Kluwer Technische Boeken, Deventer, 1978.

Estonian

  • Hinderling, Robert, Rückläufiges estnisches Wörterbuch = Eesti keele pöördsõnaraamat (Sõnalõpuline leksikon) = Reverse dictionary of the Estonian language, Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaftliche Fakultät der Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth, 1979.

Finnish

  • Tuomi, Tuomo (ed.), Suomen kielen käänteissanakirja – Reverse Dictionary of Modern Standard Finnish, Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura, 1980. ISBN   951-717-002-5.

French

  • Juilland, A., Dictionnaire inverse de la langue française, Mouton, The Hague, 1965.

German

  • Bruckner, T., Rückläufige Wortliste zum heutigen Deutsch, Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, 1986.
  • Mater, Erich, Rückläufiges Wörterbuch der deutschen Gegenwartssprache CD-ROM, Straelener Ms.-Verlag, Straelen, 2001 ISBN   3-89107-047-0
  • Muthmann, Gustav, Rückläufiges deutsches Wörterbuch: Handbuch der Wortausgänge im Deutschen, mit Beachtung der Wort- und Lautstruktur, Niemeyer, Tübingen, 2001.

Cypriot-Greek

  • Συμεωνίδης, Χ. Π., Αντίστροφο λεξικό της κυπριακής διαλέκτου. Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της κυπριακής διαλέκτου. Πρώτο μέρος. Τα δυσπρόσιτα της κυπριακής διαλέκτου, 2017

Greek, modern

  • Αναστασιάδη-Συμεωνίδη, Α. Αντίστροφο Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής. Θεσσαλονίκη: Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών, 2002.
  • Κουρμούλης Γ. Αντίστροφον λεξικόν της Νέας Ελληνικής. Δεύτερη Έκδοση. Αθήνα: Παπαδήμας, 2002.
  • Τσιλογιάννης, Παύλος, Αντίστροφο λεξικό της νέας - αρχαίας Ελληνικής γλώσσας : με διάγραμμα ιστορίας της Ελληνικής γλώσσας και χρήσιμους πίνακες, 2000 (modern and ancient Greek)
  • Μπαλαφούτης, Ευάγγελος, Αντίστροφο λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής γλώσσας, 1996
  • Reverse dictionary in modern Greek, Βικιλεξικό (Greek Wiktionary)

Greek, ancient

  • P. Kretchmer, E. Locker. Rückläufiges Wörterbuch der griechischen Sprache. Göttingen, 1944. 2nd ed. 1963
  • C.D. Buck, W. Petersen. A Reverse Index of Greek Nouns and Adjectives. Chicago 1948 (?). Reprinted 1975
  • F. Dornseiff, B. Hansen. Rückläufiges Wörterbuch der griechischen Eigennamen / Reverse-Lexicon of Greek Proper-Names. Berlin, 1957; Chicago 1978
  • Τσιλογιάννης, Παύλος, Αντίστροφο λεξικό της νέας - αρχαίας Ελληνικής γλώσσας : με διάγραμμα ιστορίας της Ελληνικής γλώσσας και χρήσιμους πίνακες, 2000 (ancient and modern Greek)
  • ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ: Dictionaries for ancient Greek and Latin, University of Chicago. (in every page / for every lemma, there is an index which can be either forward or reverse)
  • Reverse dictionary in ancient Greek, Βικιλεξικό (Greek Wiktionary)

Hebrew

  • Kuhn, Karl Georg, Rückläufiges hebräisches Wörterbuch, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1958

Hebrew and Aramaic

  • Sander, Ruth and Kerstin Mayerhofer, Retrograde Hebrew and Aramaic dictionary, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 2010. ISBN   978-3-525-55007-6

Hungarian

  • Papp, Ferenc, A magyar nyelv szóvégmutató szótára [Reverse-alphabetized dictionary of the Hungarian language]. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1969, 2nd ed.: 1994. ISBN   9630567326

Indian, old[ clarification needed ]

  • Schwarz, Wolfgang, Rückläufiges Wörterbuch des Altindischen = Reverse index of old Indian, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1974–1978.

Italian

  • Alinei, M.L., Dizionario inverso italiano, con indici e liste di frequenza delle terminazioni, Mouton & Co., The Hague 1965.

Latin

  • Gradenwitz, Otto, Laterculi vocum latinarum, Leipzig : S. Hirzel, 1904.
  • ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ: Dictionaries for ancient Greek and Latin, University of Chicago. (in every page / for every lemma, there is an index which can be either forward or reverse)

Macedonian

Manchu

  • Rozycki, William, A reverse index of Manchu, Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1981.

Mongolian

  • Krueger, John Richard, Mongolian epigraphical dictionary in reverse listing, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1967.
  • Vietze, Hans Peter, Rückläufiges Wörterbuch der mongolischen Sprache, Verlag Enzyklopädie, Leipzig, 1976.

Russian

  • Reverse Russian Wiktionary
  • Bielfeldt, H.H., Rückläufiges Wörterbuch der Russischen Sprache der Gegenwart, Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1958.

Serbo-Croatian

  • Matešić, Josip, Rückläufiges Wörterbuch des Serbokroatischen, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1965–1967.

Slovak

  • Garabík, Radovan et al., Retrográdny slovník súčasnej slovenčiny – slovné tvary na báze Slovenského národného korpusu, VEDA, vydavateľstvo SAV, Bratislava, 2018. ISBN   978-80-224-1699-3.
  • Mistrík, Jozef, Retrográdny slovník slovenčiny, Univerzita Komenského, Bratislava, 1976. 735 pp.

Slovene

  • Hajnšek-Holz, Milena and Primož Jakopin, Odzadnji slovar slovenskega jezika po Slovarju slovenskega knjižnega jezika, ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana, 1996.

Spanish

  • Bosque, I., Pérez, M., Diccionario inverso de la lengua española, Gredos, Madrid, 1987.
  • Stahl, Fred A., Scavnicky, Gary E. A., A Reverse Dictionary of the Spanish Language, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL, 1974.

Turkish

  • Kubiyak, Yel, Rückläufiges Wörterbuch des Türkischen, Landeck, Frankfurt, 2004.

Welsh

  • Zimmer, Stefan, A reverse dictionary of modern Welsh = Geiriadur gwrthdroadol Cymraeg diweddar, Buske, Hamburg, 1987.

See also

Related Research Articles

A pseudo-anglicism is a word in another language that is formed from English elements and may appear to be English, but that does not exist as an English word with the same meaning.

Arvanitika, also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika was brought to southern Greece during the late Middle Ages by Albanian settlers who moved south from their homeland in present-day Albania in several waves. The dialect preserves elements of medieval Albanian, while also being significantly influenced by the Greek language. Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the use of Greek and most younger members of the community no longer speak it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Souvlaki</span> Greek fast food

Souvlaki is a Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with or inside a rolled pita, typically with lemon, sauces, vegetables such as sliced tomato and onion, and fried potatoes as a side. The meat usually used in Greece and Cyprus is pork.

Ouzo is a dry anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece. It is made from rectified spirits that have undergone a process of distillation and flavoring. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like pastis, sambuca, rakı and arak.

The oka, okka, or oke was an Ottoman measure of mass, equal to 400 dirhems. Its value varied, but it was standardized in the late empire as 1.2829 kilograms. 'Oka' is the most usual spelling today; 'oke' was the usual contemporary English spelling; 'okka' is the modern Turkish spelling, and is usually used in academic work about the Ottoman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pastrami</span> Meat preserved by partial drying, seasoning, smoking, and steaming

Pastrami is a food originating from Romania usually made from beef brisket. Later recipes use lamb, pork, chicken or turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed. Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to preserve meat before the invention of refrigeration. One of the iconic meats of Eastern European cuisine as well as American Jewish cuisine and New York City cuisine, hot pastrami is typically served at delicatessen restaurants on sandwiches such as the pastrami on rye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taramasalata</span> Roe-based meze common to Turkey and Greece

Taramasalata or taramosalata is a meze made from tarama, the salted and cured roe of the cod, carp, or grey mullet (bottarga) mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, and a starchy base of bread or potatoes, or sometimes almonds. Variants may include garlic, spring onions, or peppers, or vinegar instead of lemon juice. While not traditionally Greek, smoked rather than cured cod's roe is more widely available in some places, and often used. Bottarga is usually much more expensive than cod's roe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saganaki</span> Greek fried cheese dish

In Greek cuisine, saganaki is any one of a variety of dishes prepared in a small frying pan, the best-known being an appetizer of fried cheese. It is commonly flambéed in North America.

Malakas is a commonly used profane Greek slang word, with a variety of different meanings, but literally meaning "man who masturbates". While it is typically used as an insult, with its literal equivalent in Commonwealth English being "wanker” and “jerk off” in American English, the meaning varies depending on the tone and context used. It can be an exclamation of pleasure, an expression of dark horror, a cry of anger, a declaration of affection, and other different things. Common alternative meanings include "asshole", "motherfucker" "jerk" or "idiot", and the contrasting "dude", or "mate", depending on the context. It has been described as "the most used Greek slang word".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pastitsio</span> Greek baked pasta dish

Pastitsio is a Greek baked pasta dish with ground meat and béchamel sauce, with variations of the dish found in other countries of the Mediterranean Sea.

An etymological dictionary discusses the etymology of the words listed. Often, large dictionaries, such as the Oxford English Dictionary and Webster's, will contain some etymological information, without aspiring to focus on etymology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamyneoi</span> Former municipality in Greece

Tamyneoi is a former municipality of the island of Euboea, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kymi-Aliveri, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 203.971 km2. The seat of the municipality was in Aliveri. The name reflects that of the ancient city of Tamynae.

Mantinada, plural mantinades (μαντινάδες) is the art of musical declamation (recitative) in form of a narrative or dialogue, sung in the rhythm of accompanying music. It is prominent in several parts of Greece, especially on the island of Crete where mantinades are performed in accompaniment of the Cretan lyra and Cretan laouto . The word is derived from Venetian matinada, meaning "morning song".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flokati rug</span>

A flokati rug is a woven wool rug. They are shaggy in appearance, and are thick and soft. Modern wool or synthetic rugs may be purchased in a variety of colours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmanuel Kriaras</span> Greek lexicographer and philologist

Emmanuel G. Kriaras was a Greek lexicographer and philologist. He was Emeritus Professor of the School of Philosophy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He was a student of Jean Psychari and the practice and ideology of demotic Greek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lâpa</span> Rice Porridge

Lapa (Turkish) or lapas is a kind of rice porridge or gruel eaten in the Balkans, Levant, and Middle East. It is made of just rice, water, and salt and has the consistency of a thick soup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgios Babiniotis</span> Greek linguist and philologist (born 1939)

Georgios Babiniotis is a Greek linguist and philologist and former Minister of Education and Religious Affairs of Greece. He previously served as rector of Athens University. As a linguist, he is best known as the author of a Dictionary of Modern Greek, which was published in 1998.

The Dictionary of Modern Greek, more commonly known as Babiniotis Dictionary, is a well-known dictionary of Modern Greek published in Greece by Lexicology Centre and supervised by Greek linguist Georgios Babiniotis.

The following tables compare Ancient Greek dictionaries, in any language.

The Sgouros, also known as Sgouropoulos (Σγουρόπουλος), Sgouromallaios (Σγουρομαλλαίος), Sgouranos (Σγουρανός), Sgouris (Σγουρής), Sgourismenos (Σγουρισμένος), Sgouritzis (Σγουρίτζης), and Sgourogiannis (Σγουρογιάννης), was a Byzantine Greek noble family – composed of multiple branches – that originated from Nafplio.

References

  1. 1 2 Stahl, Fred A., Scavnicky, Gary E. A., A Reverse Dictionary of the Spanish Language, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL,1974.
  2. Walker, John, The rhyming dictionary of the English language: in which the whole language is arranged according to its terminations ..., Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1983.