dictionary

The 404 1,109: Where we're running low on memory (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- F-bomb makes it into mainstream dictionary.

- Someone broke into Steve Jobs' home in Palo Alto.

- Hair-raising 4D movie theater chair gives you goosebumps.

- The CNET iPhone 5 rumor roundup.

Bathroom break video: Opting out of Olive Garden's bread bowl.… Read more

The 404 1,101: Where we learn how to archive (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The view from inside 'The Daily.'

- Facebook has more than 83 million 'fake' users.

- A smartwatch that talks to your iPhone.

35 really terrible words recently added to the Oxford English Dictionary.… Read more

Translate it into Lithuanian with KZod

Do you know which modern Indo-European language preserves the most characteristics of ancient Proto-Indo-European? It's Lithuanian, a unique and complex Baltic language spoken in Lithuania but not many other places. Anyone who needs to translate Lithuanian into any other language, or vice versa, needs KZod Pocket Dictionary, a free dictionary tool that is heavy on the Lithuanian content. But you can also use KZod to build your own dictionary of any kind as well as contribute to other dictionaries via DICT, the dictionary network protocol, as well as mova and SLOWO. It can translate text from other programs and … Read more

How to use the built-in dictionary in iOS 5

One overlooked feature in iOS 5 is the built-in dictionary.

Huh? Yea, we thought the same thing. Apple included a dictionary in iOS 5, allowing users to quickly look up the definition of a word from nearly anywhere in the OS.

To get the definition for a word, simply highlight the word and tap on Define. If Define isn't an option, there should be an arrow on the right side of the pop-up, tap on it, and then press Define. Doing so will launch a dictionary, providing you with a definition, all the while not forcing you to leave … Read more

Use Bible Seeker and ye shall find

Walk into a biblical scholar's study and you'll be greeted by walls full of books: versions, concordances, commentaries, textual analysis, and whole sets of volumes. That's sort of what you get for free with Bible Seeker. It's a free biblical reference tool that includes the King James Version of the Holy Bible, Easton's Bible Dictionary, Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, and Notes from the KJV Translators, with many add-on components available. You can open each reference tool independently within Bible Seeker's interface, which makes it easy to search, print, and use these time-tested resources. … Read more

Dictionary spells F-A-I-L

Tray Dictionary is a free desktop dictionary tool based on the Encarta online dictionary. With it you can look up words quickly without having to open an online dictionary site. It also allows quick right-click lookups in Internet Explorer.

We opened Tray Dictionary's Start Menu folder and clicked the program icon to open its System Tray interface, which is anchored by a dictionary icon. Clicking this icon called up a tiny search field for quick lookups. Since we park the Windows taskbar on the right edge of our wide-screen desktop, it covered Tray Dictionary's search button, and we … Read more

The 404 885: Where we weeze the juice (podcast)

"Woot" joins "jeggings," "mankini," "noob," and 400 other new definitions in the 12th edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary published today, but what happened to "glamazon," "hangry," and "retrosexual"?

Along with our suggestions for new slang to be added, we're also warning everyone about a privacy breach called juice-hacking and a virtual hit-man service that charges $10 an hour for DDoS attacks. And we talk about whether it's necessary to reboot or shut down your computer at night.

This, plus a handful of Calls From the Public on today's episode--enjoy!

The 404 Digest for Episode 885

'Woot' is officially a thing, according to Oxford English Dictionary. Beware of juice-hacking. Russians outsource DDoS attacks for $10 per hour. Is it necessary to restart or shutdown your laptop every night? Congratulations to Sir Ron for completing the maze we featured on yesterday's show!

Episode 885 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

'Woot' is officially a thing, according to Oxford English Dictionary

August marks the 100th anniversary of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (COED), the smaller but most widely recognized derivative of the official Oxford English Dictionary, or OED. To celebrate, the lexicon published its 12th edition today that adds more than 400 new entries--many of which reflect the technological pervasiveness of modern society, like "woot," "mankini," and "jeggings."

COED Editor Angus Stevenson heads up a small team at the Oxford University Press's academic cabinet tasked with choosing the next words for inclusion, and the process involves keying popular words into a database that shows frequency of use in print and online.

Since publishing its first edition back in 1911, the COED's evolution shows the tremendous effects of social media and instant-access technology on language, creating new words but also modifying existing definitions of words like "follower."

What once meant "a person who imitates or copies" now earns a second and more widely used meaning: "someone who is tracking a particular person, group, etc., on a social networking site." Another example that's a little unsettling is the general term "friend" that loses gravity in its new form: "a contact on a social networking Web site."… Read more

Desktop dictionary

WordInn Dictionary 2010 is a free dictionary program that offers definitions and phonetic and spoken pronunciations of unfamiliar words. While you're browsing the Web, communicating with friends, or just using software locally installed on your PC, you're apt to encounter unfamiliar words now and again. You can simply click on them to open WordInn for definitions, pronunciations, synonyms, translations, and more.

During its setup process, WordInn asked us to give a name, e-mail address, and native language, a "one-time" request that supposedly improves our WordInn experience. We're not crazy about submitting an e-mail address to … Read more