The oldest known monolingual dictionary is the Chinese dictionary which traces its origin in the 3rd century BCE. The tablets contain a bilingual list of the Sumerian-Akkadian words and were discovered around 2300 BCE in Elba, which is now modern day Syria. The cuneiform tablets of the Akkadian Empire are considered the oldest dictionaries. Oldest DictionariesĪlthough the systematic study of dictionary began in the 20th century, records of the earliest dictionaries exist in various parts of the world.

The earliest known dictionary is linked to the period of Sumeria, while the orderly study of dictionaries is credited to Ladislav Zgussta in the 20th century. Other common types of dictionaries include defining dictionaries, prescriptive and descriptive dictionaries, and satirical dictionaries, among others. Unlike the general dictionary which contains a wide range of words in a language, the specialized dictionary has only words used in a specific subject or field such as medicine and geography. A dictionary may be general or specialized.

It may also contain phonetics and translations of such words. A dictionary defines a word, gives examples of its usage, and its correct pronunciation. It is a collection of words used in one or more languages. A dictionary is one of the most useful books in the understanding of a language and learning of new words.

Monolingual dictionary english oxford