On dictionaries
A recent opinion piece in the Sunday New York Times, titled “Why Dictionaries Still Define Us,” drew our attention with its eloquent defense of dictionaries and its critical perspective on AI-generated text as a substitute for dictionaries. The article prompted us to reflect on the breadth of online dictionaries profiled within bird.
bird (Base Inventory of Research Databases) includes profiles of more than 150 electronic dictionaries, spanning a range of disciplines; subject areas; and languages. These resources are roughly divided evenly between traditional language dictionaries and subject-specific reference works—alphabetically organized tools that serve specialized areas of study.
Among the most distinguished entries in the bird language collection is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), long regarded as the authoritative historical record of the English language. bird also offer bibliographic access to several dictionaries reflecting “colonial” English variants, such as The Oxford Dictionary of New Zealandisms, the 2005 edition of The Canadian Oxford Dictionary and various digital editions of Merriam-Webster Unabridged.
The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) provides rich insight into regional variations in U.S. English. Additional resources cover historical forms of the language, including Old and Middle English, as well as contemporary slang and idiomatic expressions.
A noteworthy recent addition to the bird platform is the open-access third edition of A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles. Modeled after the OED, this resource documents uniquely Canadian words and expressions.
While browsing this site, we did encounter the entry “elbows up,” defined as “a synonym for Canadian resistance against U.S. tariffs”—a term with roots in hockey culture that has evolved into a broader symbol of national resilience. This entry also illustrates the currency and maintenance of this dictionary.
bird profiles also include a wide selection of bilingual and translation dictionaries, which support comparative language studies. Among the more distinguished entries are comprehensive historical dictionaries: one of the Hebrew language, tracing usage across its entire documented history, and another of early Italian, covering the language from its earliest records to the end of the 14th century and the dawn of the Renaissance.
Regarding subject-based dictionaries, bird includes a diverse array of reference works covering fields such as biography, philosophy, art, and chemistry. These are often digital versions of well-established print sources published by leading presses, including Cambridge, Brill, and Oxford.
An especially intriguing recent addition is the open-access Dictionary of Comparative Quotations. This resource serves both as a reference for writers and as a valuable tool for instructors seeking examples of effective prose or prompts for classroom discussion. The dictionary’s aim is to demonstrate the variety and power of comparisons drawn entirely from prose—not poetry or fiction.
Where else might one find baseball likened to poetry or religion compared to automobile travel or Batman to Superman? This collection offers no shortage of thought-provoking reading.
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bird profiles 8,900+ research databases across 179 academic disciplines. bird is updated weekly.
