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A thesaurus (plural ''thesauri'' or ''thesauruses'') or synonym dictionary is a
reference work A reference work is a work, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually ''referred'' to f ...
for finding
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
s and sometimes
antonym In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''long'' entails that it is not ''short''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members ...
s of words. They are often used by writers to help find the best word to express an idea: Synonym dictionaries have a long history. The word 'thesaurus' was used in 1852 by
Peter Mark Roget Peter Mark Roget ( ; 18 January 1779 – 12 September 1869) was a British physician, natural theologian, lexicographer and founding secretary of The Portico Library. He is best known for publishing, in 1852, the '' Thesaurus of English Words ...
for his ''
Roget's Thesaurus ''Roget's Thesaurus'' is a widely used English-language thesaurus, created in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget (1779–1869), British physician, natural theologian and lexicographer. History It was released to the public on 29 April 1852. Roget was i ...
''. While some thesauri, such as ''Roget's Thesaurus'', group words in a
hierarchical A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
hypernymic
taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
of concepts, others are organized alphabetically or in some other way. Most thesauri do not include definitions, but many dictionaries include listings of synonyms. Some thesauri and dictionary synonym notes characterize the distinctions between similar words, with notes on their "connotations and varying shades of meaning".''American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', 5th edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2011, , p. xxvii Some synonym dictionaries are primarily concerned with differentiating synonyms by meaning and usage. Usage manuals such as Fowler's '' Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' often prescribe appropriate usage of synonyms. Writers sometimes use thesauri to avoid repetition of words —
elegant variation Elegant variation is a writer's substitution of "one word for another for the sake of variety". The term was introduced in 1906 by H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler in ''The King's English''. In their meaning of the term, they focus particularly on ...
— which is often criticized by usage manuals: "writers sometimes use them not just to vary their vocabularies but to dress them up too much".


Etymology

The word "thesaurus" comes from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
'' thēsaurus'', which in turn comes from
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
(''thēsauros'') 'treasure, treasury, storehouse'."thesaurus"
'' Online Etymology Dictionary''.
The word ''thēsauros'' is of uncertain etymology.''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'
''s.v.''
/ref> Until the 19th century, a thesaurus was any
dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...
or
encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, as in the ''
Thesaurus Linguae Latinae The ''Thesaurus Linguae Latinae'' (abbreviated as ''ThLL'' or ''TLL'') is a monumental dictionary of Latin founded on historical principles. It encompasses the Latin language from the time of its origin to the time of Isidore of Seville (died ...
'' (''Dictionary of the Latin Language'', 1532), and the ''
Thesaurus Linguae Graecae The Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) is a research center at the University of California, Irvine. The TLG was founded in 1972 by Marianne McDonald (a graduate student at the time and now a professor of theater and classics at the University of Cal ...
'' (''Dictionary of the Greek Language'', 1572). It was Roget who introduced the meaning "collection of words arranged according to sense", in 1852.


History

In antiquity,
Philo of Byblos Philo of Byblos ( grc, Φίλων Βύβλιος, ''Phílōn Býblios''; la, Philo Byblius;  – 141), also known as Herennius Philon, was an antiquarian writer of grammatical, lexical and historical works in Greek. He is chiefly known for ...
authored the first text that could now be called a thesaurus. In
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, the
Amarakosha The Amarakosha (Devanagari: अमरकोशः , IAST: ''Amarakośaḥ'' , ISO: ''Amarakōśaḥ'') is the popular name for ''Namalinganushasanam'' (Devanagari: नामलिङ्गानुशासनम् , IAST: ''Nāmaliṅgānuś ...
is a thesaurus in verse form, written in the 4th century. The study of synonyms became an important theme in 18th-century philosophy, and Condillac wrote, but never published, a dictionary of synonyms. Some early synonym dictionaries include: *
John Wilkins John Wilkins, (14 February 1614 – 19 November 1672) was an Anglican clergyman, natural philosopher, and author, and was one of the founders of the Royal Society. He was Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death. Wilkins is one of the fe ...
, '' An Essay Towards a Real Character, and a Philosophical Language'' and ''Alphabetical Dictionary'' (1668) are a "regular enumeration and description of all those things and notions to which names are to be assigned". They are not explicitly synonym dictionaries — in fact, they do not even use the word "synonym" — but they do group synonyms together. * Gabriel Girard, ''La Justesse de la langue françoise, ou les différentes significations des mots qui passent pour synonymes'' (1718)Gabriel Girard, ''La Justesse de la langue françoise, ou les différentes significations des mots qui passent pour synonymes'', Paris 1718
full text
/ref> *
John Trusler Revd John Trusler (1735–1820) was an eccentric English Anglican divine, divine, literary compiler, and medical empiric. Early life Trusler was born in Hanover Square, London, Hanover Square, London, England, in July 1735.Emma Major, "Trusler, ...
, ''The Difference between Words esteemed Synonyms, in the English Language; and the proper choice of them determined'' (1766)John Trusler (anonymously), ''The Difference between Words esteemed Synonyms, in the English Language; and the proper choice of them determined'', London, 176
full text
/ref> * Hester Lynch Piozzi, ''British Synonymy'' (1794)Hester Lynch Piozzi, ''British Synonymy; or, an Attempt Regulating the Choice of Words in Familiar Conversation'', Dublin 179
full text
/ref> * James Leslie, ''Dictionary of the Synonymous Words and Technical Terms in the English Language'' (1806)James Leslie, ''Dictionary of the Synonymous Words and Technical Terms in the English Language'', Edinburgh, 180
full text
/ref> * George Crabb, ''English Synonyms Explained'' (1818)George Crabb, ''English Synonyms Explained, in Alphabetical Order with Copious Illustrations and Examples Drawn from the Best Writers'', 2nd edition, London 181
full text
/ref> ''
Roget's Thesaurus ''Roget's Thesaurus'' is a widely used English-language thesaurus, created in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget (1779–1869), British physician, natural theologian and lexicographer. History It was released to the public on 29 April 1852. Roget was i ...
'', first compiled in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget, and published in 1852, follows
John Wilkins John Wilkins, (14 February 1614 – 19 November 1672) was an Anglican clergyman, natural philosopher, and author, and was one of the founders of the Royal Society. He was Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death. Wilkins is one of the fe ...
' semantic arrangement of 1668. Unlike earlier synonym dictionaries, it does not include definitions or aim to help the user to choose among synonyms. It has been continuously in print since 1852, and remains widely used across the English-speaking world. Roget described his thesaurus in the foreword to the first edition:
It is now nearly fifty years since I first projected a system of verbal classification similar to that on which the present work is founded. Conceiving that such a compilation might help to supply my own deficiencies, I had, in the year 1805, completed a classed catalogue of words on a small scale, but on the same principle, and nearly in the same form, as the Thesaurus now published.


Organization


Conceptual

Roget's original thesaurus was organized into 1000 conceptual Heads (e.g., 806 Debt) organized into a four-level
taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
. For example, debt is classed under V..iv: :Class five, ''Volition: the exercise of the will'' ::Division Two: ''Social volition'' :::Section 4: ''Possessive Relations'' ::::Subsection 4: ''Monetary relations''. Each head includes direct synonyms: Debt, obligation, liability, ...; related concepts: interest, usance, usury; related persons: debtor, debitor, ... defaulter (808); verbs: to be in debt, to owe, ... ''see'' Borrow (788); phrases: to run up a bill or score, ...; and adjectives: in debt, indebted, owing, .... Numbers in parentheses are
cross-reference The term cross-reference (abbreviation: xref) can refer to either: * An instance within a document which refers to related information elsewhere in the same document. In both printed and online dictionaries cross-references are important because ...
s to other Heads. The book starts with a Tabular Synopsis of Categories laying out the hierarchy, then the main body of the thesaurus listed by Head, and then an alphabetical index listing the different Heads under which a word may be found: Liable, ''subject to'', 177; ''debt'', 806; ''duty'', 926. Some recent versions have kept the same organization, though often with more detail under each Head. Others have made modest changes such as eliminating the four-level taxonomy and adding new heads: one has 1075 Heads in fifteen Classes. Some non-English thesauri have also adopted this model. In addition to its taxonomic organization, the ''
Historical Thesaurus of English The ''Historical Thesaurus of English'' (''HTE'') is the largest thesaurus in the world. It is called a ''historical thesaurus'' as it arranges the whole vocabulary of English, from the earliest written records in Old English to the present, ac ...
'' (2009) includes the date when each word came to have a given meaning. It has the novel and unique goal of "charting the semantic development of the huge and varied vocabulary of English". Different senses of a word are listed separately. For example, three difference senses of "debt" are listed in three different places in the taxonomy:
A sum of money that is owed or due; a liability or obligation to pay
:Society ::Trade and Finance :::Management of Money ::::Insolvency :::::Indebtedness
oun Oun or OUN may refer to People * Ahmed Oun (born '1946), Libyan major general * Ek Yi Oun (1910–2013), Cambodian politician * Kham-Oun I (1885–1915), Lao queen consort * Õun, an Estonian surname; notable people with this surname * Oun Kham (18 ...

An immaterial debt; an obligation to do something
:Society ::Morality :::Duty or obligation ::::
oun Oun or OUN may refer to People * Ahmed Oun (born '1946), Libyan major general * Ek Yi Oun (1910–2013), Cambodian politician * Kham-Oun I (1885–1915), Lao queen consort * Õun, an Estonian surname; notable people with this surname * Oun Kham (18 ...

An offence requiring expiation (figurative, Biblical)
:Society ::Faith :::Aspects of faith ::::Spirituality :::::Sin ::::::
oun Oun or OUN may refer to People * Ahmed Oun (born '1946), Libyan major general * Ek Yi Oun (1910–2013), Cambodian politician * Kham-Oun I (1885–1915), Lao queen consort * Õun, an Estonian surname; notable people with this surname * Oun Kham (18 ...
:::::::instance of


Alphabetical

Other thesauri and synonym dictionaries are organized alphabetically. Most repeat the list of synonyms under each word.''Longman Synonym Dictionary'', Rodale Press and Longman Group, 1986, Charlton Laird, Michael Agnes, eds., ''Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus'', Macmillan USA, 3rd edition, 1971, Christine A. Lindberg, ''The Oxford American Thesaurus of Current English'', Oxford University Press, 1999, ''Oxford Thesaurus of English'', 3rd edition, 2009, Some designate a principal entry for each concept and cross-reference it.''Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms : Choose Words with Precision'', 1994, uses an asterisk A third system interfiles words and conceptual headings.
Francis March Dr. Francis Andrew March (October 25, 1825 – September 9, 1911) was an American polymath, academic, philologist, and lexicographer. He is considered the principal founder of modern comparative linguistics in Old English. Also known as the "G ...
's ''Thesaurus Dictionary'' gives for ''liability'': , each of which is a conceptual heading. Francis Andrew March, Francis A. March, Jr., ''March's Thesaurus and Dictionary of the English Language'' (issued under the editorial supervision of
Norman Cousins Norman Cousins (June 24, 1915 – November 30, 1990) was an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate. Early life Cousins was born to Jewish immigrant parents Samuel Cousins and Sarah Babushkin Cousins, in West ...
), Doubleday, 1968, p. 59
full text, 1906 edition
/ref> The article has multiple subheadings, including Nouns of Agent, Verbs, Verbal Expressions, ''etc.'' Under each are listed synonyms with brief definitions, ''e.g.'' "Credit. Transference of property on promise of future payment." The conceptual headings are not organized into a taxonomy. Benjamin Lafaye's ''Synonymes français'' (1841) is organized around morphologically related families of synonyms (''e.g.'' ''logis, logement''), and his ''Dictionnaire des synonymes de la langue française'' (1858) is mostly alphabetical, but also includes a section on morphologically related synonyms, which is organized by prefix, suffix, or construction.


Contrasting senses

Before Roget, most thesauri and dictionary synonym notes included discussions of the differences among near-synonyms, as do some modern ones. ''Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms'' is a stand-alone modern English synonym dictionary that does discuss differences. In addition, many general English dictionaries include synonym notes. Several modern synonym dictionaries in French are ''primarily'' devoted to discussing the precise demarcations among synonyms.B. Lafaye, ''Dictionnaire des synonymes de la langue française'', Hachette 1869, 3rd edition


Additional elements

Some include short definitions. Some give illustrative phrases. Some include lists of objects within the category (
hyponym In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other wor ...
s), ''e.g.'' breeds of dogs.


Bilingual

Bilingual synonym dictionaries are designed for language learners. One such dictionary gives various French words listed alphabetically, with an English translation and an example of use. Another one is organized taxonomically with examples, translations, and some usage notes.


Information science and natural language processing

In
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
and
information science Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, Categorization, classification, manipulation, storage, information retrieval, retrieval, movement, dissemin ...
, a thesaurus is a kind of
controlled vocabulary Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlling ...
. A thesaurus can form part of an
ontology In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
and be represented in the
Simple Knowledge Organization System Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) is a W3C recommendation designed for representation of thesauri, classification schemes, taxonomies, subject-heading systems, or any other type of structured controlled vocabulary. SKOS is part of the ...
(SKOS). Thesauri are used in
natural language processing Natural language processing (NLP) is an interdisciplinary subfield of linguistics, computer science, and artificial intelligence concerned with the interactions between computers and human language, in particular how to program computers to pro ...
for
word-sense disambiguation Word-sense disambiguation (WSD) is the process of identifying which sense of a word is meant in a sentence or other segment of context. In human language processing and cognition, it is usually subconscious/automatic but can often come to consci ...
and
text simplification Text simplification is an operation used in natural language processing to change, enhance, classify, or otherwise process an existing body of human-readable text so its grammar and structure is greatly simplified while the underlying meaning and ...
for
machine translation Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT (not to be confused with computer-aided translation, machine-aided human translation or interactive translation), is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates t ...
systems.Siddharthan, Advaith. "An architecture for a text simplification system." Language Engineering Conference, 2002. Proceedings. IEEE, 2002.


See also

*
Conceptual dictionary A conceptual dictionary (also ideographic or ideological dictionary) is a dictionary that groups words by concept or semantic relation instead of arranging them in alphabetical order. Examples of conceptual dictionaries are picture dictionaries, ...


Bibliography

* W.E. Collinson, "Comparative Synonymics: Some Principles and Illustrations", ''Transactions of the Philological Society'' 38:1:54–77, November 1939, * Gerda Hassler, "Lafaye's ''Dictionnaire des synonymes'' in the History of Semantics" in Sheli Embleton, John E. Joseph, Hans-Josef Hiederehe, ''The Emergence of the Modern Language Sciences'', John Benjamins 1999, , p. 1:27–40 * Werner Hüllen, "Roget's Thesaurus, deconstructed" in ''Historical Dictionaries and Historical Dictionary Research'', papers from the ''International Conference on Historical Lexicography and Lexicology'', University of Leicester, 2002, Max Niemeyer Verlag 2004, , p. 83–94 * Werner Hüllen, ''A history of Roget's thesaurus : origins, development, and design'', Oxford University Press 2004, * Werner Hüllen, ''Networks and Knowledge in Roget's Thesaurus'', Oxford, January 2009, , * Gertrude E. Noyes, "The Beginnings of the Study of Synonyms in England", ''Publications of the Modern Language Association of America (PMLA)'' 66:6:951–970 (December 1951) * Eric Stanley, "Polysemy and Synonymy and how these Concepts were Understood from the Eighteenth Century onwards in Treatises, and Applied in Dictionaries of English" in ''Historical Dictionaries and Historical Dictionary Research'', papers from the ''International Conference on Historical Lexicography and Lexicology'', University of Leicester, 2002, Max Niemeyer Verlag 2004, , p. 157–184


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Reference works Dictionaries by type Lexical semantics es:Tesauro#En literatura