Archive for the ‘Glossaries’ Category

Multiingual Glossary: DSL

Thursday, March 29th, 2007

Glossary of Technical & DSL Terminology (PDF; 75 KB)

We are pleased to announce that one of our member companies, East by North, has graciously donated a new multi-lingual glossary to our membership. This glossary translates between English, Spanish and Italian. Please note that the terms within the glossary are based on most frequent usage and, in some cases, a literal translation of the acronyms. We are aware of regional differences and differences resulting from rapidly changing technology. This glossary is meant to be a guide and an educational tool and may not be suitable for official documents.

Source: East by North (via DSL Forum)

Updates to Oxford English Dictionary Released Including a Selction of New Words

Thursday, March 15th, 2007

The fully revised range Prakrit-prim was added to the Dictionary: the Chief Editor, John Simpson, shares his observations on the latest revisions.

See Also: New Words Added in the Prakrit-prim Range

See Also: Selection of New Words
Some of the new words include:
+ arch-rival, n.

+ bimbette, n.

+ caramelized, adj.

+ dog pile, n. and v.

+ hot spot, n.

+ ice, v.

Source: OED

Compare “Text Stats” for Amazon.com “Search Inside The Book” Titles

Sunday, February 18th, 2007

We’re not sure precisely when a specific feature on Amazon.com “Search Inside the Book” info page debuted, but we haven’t mentioned on ResourceShelf and we think it’s worthy of your attention.

Most of you are aware that besides allowing users to search the full text of many books in the Amazon.com database, via “Search Inside the Book,” the service also provides a ton of stats about each title.

In many cases you’ll find some/all of the following:
+ Customers who bought this item also bought (this is available for most Amazon.com books)
+ A concordance (Top 100 used words in the book)
+ Citations to the book from other books in the Amazon.com database
+ Statistically Improbable Phrases
+ Capitalized Phrases

In addition to all of this info, you’ll also find “text stats and comparison info to titles in similar categories as the book you are reviewing.

Text Stats include:
+ Readability (Using 3 indices)
+ Complexity
+ Number of characters, words, sentences in the book.
+ Fun stats! (Words per ounce, words per dollar.

At the top of the Text Stats area look for a pull-down labeled “Compared with books in.” Default is “all books,” pull-down to select titles in related categories. Here’s an example.

See Also: Learn More about Text Stats

Glossary: Epidemiology

Sunday, February 11th, 2007

Glossary of EPI and Infectious Disease Terms
Alphabetical list, from acute disease to transmission.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology

Glossary: Small Business Terms

Thursday, February 8th, 2007

Glossary: Small Business Terms
Browse by word or search.

Search by:
+ Definitions
+ Complete Phrase
+ Any Word in Phrase
+ Starts With
+ Ends With

Source: Small Business Administration

Updated Dictionary: Multilingual dictionary of drugs under international control from UNDOC

Tuesday, February 6th, 2007

From the announcement:

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime today launched an updated multilingual dictionary of all drugs controlled under the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.

Drugs may have different names, particularly in commerce and in technical literature, which complicates the task of national and international drug control authorities. The dictionary alleviates this by providing current information on existing chemical names and variants, synonyms, common generic and trade names of over 240 drugs…The dictionary is now fully searchable by common or chemical name of substances. It provides two-way translation between English and the five other official UN languages of all controlled substances, as well as common salts and derivatives.

The entire dictionary can be downloaded for offline use as a single PDF file or in sections.

Direct to Dictionary

Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Glossary: The Language of Trade

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

The Language of Trade

With 95 percent of the world’s population beyond our borders, America must look abroad to expand markets and continue to grow our economy. Worldwide trade liberalization holds the key, promising the surest path to future US economic growth and security. Trade policies and agreements are constantly under negotiation and frequently the subject of debate in the US Congress. Business Roundtable has developed The Language of Trade to help improve understanding of what can often be a complex topic.

Use the index below to search for trade terms alphabetically, or search for a specific term by entering it in the field below and click on the “search glossary” button. To view a printable PDF version, click here (473 KB).

+ Trade Liberalization Timeline
+ Commonly Used Acronyms

Source: Business Roundtable

New From Merriam-Webster: Free Spanish/English Dictionary Online

Monday, January 29th, 2007

From the site:

Providing accurate and up-to-date coverage of current vocabulary in both languages, it’s the perfect tool for language learners, teachers, office workers, tourists, business travelers—anyone who needs to communicate effectively in the Spanish and English languages as they are spoken and written in the Americas

Look for the Spanish/English option next to the tight of the thesaurus search option near the search box.

Source: Merriam-Webster

Reference: Railroad Dictionary

Saturday, January 6th, 2007

Railroad Dictionary
From “A End of Car” to “Yardmaster.”

Source: CSX Corporation

Reference Book History: Timeline: Milestones in American Lexicography; Noah Webster’s Spelling Reform

Friday, January 5th, 2007

+ Timeline: Milestones in American Lexicography

+ Glossary of Some Terms Included in First Edition, A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language

+ Noah Webster’s Spelling Reform

Source: Merriam-Webster

Another Reference Classic Now Has A Blog: The Infoplease Almanac Editor’s Blog

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

A warm welcome to the Infoplease Editor’s Blog
We were happy to see that one of the the first posts discusses a feature we mentioned on RS a few weeks ago, the Infoplease Latitude/Longitude Finder. You’ll also read about the Infoplease distance calculator.

Of course, this blog has an RSS feed.

See Also: Another New Blog We Recently Posted About: The World Almanac and Book of Facts Blog

Glossary of Human Resources Terms

Thursday, December 21st, 2006

Glossary of Human Resources Terms
“Welcome to the SHRM Glossary of HR Terms, developed by the SHRM Knowledge Center. These are commonly used terms and definitions that are significant to the profession of human resource management. The glossary is continuously updated to include new human resource management terms as they emerge.”

Source: Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Standard Terminology Relating to Nanotechnology

Friday, December 15th, 2006

Standard Terminology Relating to Nanotechnology (PDF; 518 KB)
From press release:

ASTM International’s Committee E56 has recently published the first known consensus-based standard defining a common technical language for the rapidly developing field of nanotechnology. The issuance of ASTM E2456-06, Standard Terminology Relating to Nanotechnology, has the agreement of a broad range of experts and provides precisely defined vocabulary for the burgeoning nanotechnology industry.

The standard establishes terminology for such fundamental terms as nano-, nanotechnology, nanoscale and nanoparticle. In addition to providing a specific, shared vocabulary among scientists, an agreed-upon terminology also helps to foster a common understanding among consumers as nano products enter the marketplace.

Source: American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

Glossary: Aviation and Airports

Sunday, December 3rd, 2006

Glossary: Aviation and Airports
Over 1400 terms, searchable.

Source: Key Publishing / Airports of the World Magazine

Glossary: UK Freedom of Information

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Glossary of Terms: UK Freedom of Information Act

Source: Information Commissioners Office

Cardiac Glossary

Sunday, November 12th, 2006

Cardiac Glossary
Alphabetical list of terms, from ablation to Wolff-Parkinson White Syndrome. Some definitions include multimedia.
See also: Heart and Stroke Encyclopedia

Source: American Heart Association

Spectrum’s Guide to Recent Electronics: Industry Acronyms and Abbreviations (SGTREIAA)

Wednesday, October 25th, 2006

Spectrum’s Guide to Recent Electronics: Industry Acronyms and Abbreviations (SGTREIAA)

When you live on the cutting edge of technology, there are, literally, no words to describe it. Instead we have acronyms. Lots and lots of acronyms.

And for good reason. Imagine a discussion of high-density-technique metal-oxide semiconductors, integrated database application programming interfaces, or—let’s go out on a limb here—separate absorption-graded multiplication avalanche photo­diodes. Without acronyms, by the time you got halfway through the conversation, the technology in question would be obsolete.

Here we’ve compiled a list of our favorites to help you through your day. It’s not meant to be comprehensive—there are plenty of more thorough sources, including an IEEE dictionary—and it’s certainly not meant to be offensive. But we hope it shows the interesting and sometimes really weird ways new acronyms come about.

Source: IEEE Spectrum

Glossary: New Electronics, Computer Science Acronyms

Tuesday, October 10th, 2006

Glossary: New Electronics, Computer Science Acronyms

From ABT: Advanced BiCMOS technology to the SO Family.

Source: IEEE Spectrum

Blasting Glossary

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

Blasting Glossary
Source: International Society of Explosives Engineers (via U.S. Mine Rescue Association)
“These definitions are not necessarily intended to conform to those set forth in any governmental regulations or guidelines, nor are they intended to describe any manufacturer’s particular product configuration.”