Dictionaries, Encyclopedias & Almanacs
Almanacs & Records | Encyclopedias | English Language Dictionaries, Acronyms & Thesauri
Foreign Language Dictionaries & Translations | Specialized Dictionaries
Almanacs & Records
Information Please - An encyclopedia, almanac and dictionary all in one! Topics include world, sports, business, entertainment, people science & technology and more.
General Reference Center Gold - Includes Information Please Almanac, World Almanac, Book of Facts and other publications containing facts and data. (Available only to UA.)
Guinness World Records - In addition to the usual records of interest, this site also includes some videos of record holders as well as information on how to apply to become a record holder.
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General Encyclopedias
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online - Major English language general encyclopedia. (Available only to UA.)
For historical research, a free version of the Britannica 11th edition published in 1911 is available online.
Encyclopedia of World History. 6th ed. - A comprehensive chronology of more than 20,000 entries that span the millennia from prehistoric times to the year 2000. Includes a Subject Index.
Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. - Includes browsable alphabetic index of over 51,000 topics.
Wikipedia - a free online encyclopedia.
Gale Virtual Reference Library - searches a selected set of subject encyclopedias and other reference works. (Click on the Title List at the top of the screen to see a list of the titles included.)
For other subject-specific online encyclopedias, please see the appropriate Subject Guides. Most important encyclopedias are listed on the first page (Background information) of each guide.
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Dictionaries - English
English Language Dictionaries:
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. - Over 90,000 entries feature 10,000 new words and senses, 70,000 audio word pronunciations, 900 full-page color illustrations, language notes and word-root appendixes.
Oxford English Dictionary -Contains the complete text of the OED's 20-volume Second Edition and 3-volume Additions Series. Also includes draft material from the current OED project, representing the latest progress towards a completely revised and updated Third Edition. The OED online can be used to perform simple searches for word definitions, or for full-text searching of all OED's definitions, etymologies and quotations through the Search function. Updated quarterly. Includes a page on how to cite the OED Online. (Available only to UA.)
Cambridge Dictionaries Online - Includes dictionaries of American English, Learner's and Advanced Learner's (of English), idioms and phrasal verbs.
Handspeak - Welcome to the visual Sign Language dictionary on the Web! HandSpeak. Handspeak allows the users to actually see the signs performed online. Over 3,000 signs available so far.
Merriam-Webster WWW Dictionary - Includes pronunciation, etymology, date, function, and definitions and will offer alternative words if your entry is misspelled. (Available only to UA.)
Onelook Dictionaries - This search engine provides access to over 900 online general and specialized dictionaries, which can find, define and translate words and acronyms.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 Edition - ARTFL project. Search using single word, most entries contain cross references. WILL NOT offer alternative words if your entry is misspelled.
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged - Originally published in 1961, this online edition includes updated material through 1996. Approximately 450,000 vocabulary entries. (Available only to UA.)
Acronyms:
Acronym Finder - Find out what acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms stand for.
Thesauri:
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - The Roget's II: The New Thesaurus website contains 35,000 synonyms in an easy-to-use format and features succinct word definitions and an innovative hyperlinked category index.
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Dictionaries - Foreign Languages
Cambridge Dictionaries Online - Includes Cambridge Klett compact dictionaries of French-English and Spanish-English.
English-German/German-English Dictionary - QuickDic may be used online or the latest version downloaded. Includes over 250,000 words.
English-Spanish Dictionary (Library Science/Information Technology) - This is a compilation of the terminology (both general and specific) used by library and information professionals. Created by Tony Lozano at University of Granada, Spain.
French Dictionary - ARTFL Project. Maintained by Tyler Jones.
yourDictionary.com Language Dictionaries - A compilation of online dictionaries for nearly 300 languages. Also includes information about endangered languages.
Translation services:
Babel Fish Translation (AltaVista) -Words, phrases and even web page translations are provided in English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
Google Language Tools - Translates text or web pages in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese. You can also search web pages in specific languages or located in specific countries from this page.
Free Translation.com - FreeTranslation.com is an easy-to-use site for rapid translations where you can get the "gist" of foreign language text and web pages. Includes English to and from Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, plus English to Chinese and Norwegian. Professional services also available for a fee.
Translated.net free translations - provides free machine translations either from or to Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Russian, Spanish or Ukrainian. Also allows choice of a variety of subject categories for more precise translations. Professional services also available for a fee.
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Specialized Dictionaries
A Dictionary of Units - Provides a summary of most of the units of measurement to be found in use around the world today (and a few of historical interest), together with the appropriate conversion factors needed to change them into a 'standard' unit of the S I.
yourDictionary.com Specialty Dictionaries - Lists online dictionaries available in many different subject areas.