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Literature & Language (lĭt'ər-ə-chʊr' ənd lăng'gwĭj)

Written works of an imaginative, journalistic or scholarly nature; a system of spoken and written symbols by means of which people can communicate with each other. Esperanto, anyone?
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Literature & Language
Abbreviations:
Definitions of acronyms and symbols
Examples: CAPTCHA, WYSIWYG, BQE, more »
African American Literature:
The writers, characters and critics of African American literature, and plot summaries of major works
Examples: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Frederick Douglass, Brer Rabbit, more »
American Authors:
Biographies of famous authors
Examples: Theodore Sedgwick Fay, Owen Davis, Zoe Akins, more »
American Family Name Origins:
Explanations of the last names of 90% of the US population
Examples: Bush, Smith, Revere, more »
American Literature Chronology:
Development of US literature throughout the years
Examples: 1645, 1952, more »
American Sign Language:
An instant reference tool and study guide for those interested in understanding and utilizing ASL.
Examples: Hello, Happy Birthday, The food is delicious, more »
American Word Origins:
Word origins of American words
Examples: affirmative action, grapevine, indian summer, more »
Antonyms:
Dictionary of antonyms
Examples: oblivion, malevolent, daydream, more »
Australian Literature:
A comprehensive record of Australian writing from the beginning of the European settlement to the end of the 20th century.
Examples: Applestealers, The Magic Pudding, Tarella Quin, more »
Children's Authors:
The lives and works of authors and illustrators of books for children
Examples: Loren Long, Kaye Umansky, Charles de Lint, more »
Classical Literature Companion:
The classical world and its literature, revealed through the lives of its writers and plot summaries of their major works
Examples: epic, Argonauts, epigram, more »
Common Misspellings:
Commonly misspelled words
Examples: miscellaneous, acquaintance, weird, more »
Crossword Solutions:
An indispensable aid for cruciverbalists.
Examples: artist, bewilder, doctrine, more »
Devil's Dictionary:
Quaint dictionary by Ambrose Bierce
Examples: passport, love, future, more »
Dictionary:
General word definitions, with audible pronunciations
Examples: bell lap, zyzzyva, lazaretto, more »
Dictionary - Abbr.:
List of abbreviations and some acronyms and their definitions
Examples: PG-13, PhB, .il, more »
English Folklore:
Folklore, superstitions, customs and legendary characters
Examples: English Folk Dance and Song Society, knives, alien big cats, more »
English Usage:
The classic authority on grammar and style
Examples: hopefully, lady, woman, plurals of nouns, more »
Fairy Tale Companion:
The stories, characters and writers of this complex and captivating genre
Examples: Hans Christian Andersen, The Brothers Grimm, Ali Baba, more »
First Name Origins:
First names and their origins
Examples: Icarus, D'Artagnan, Abigail, more »
French Literature Companion:
Ten centuries of French-language literature
Examples: Versification, Jean-Paul Sartre, Criticism, more »
German Literature Companion:
1,200 years of German-language literature placed in historical and cultural context
Examples: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, Leipzig, more »
Grammar Dictionary:
Terms and concepts in English grammar
Examples: satire, iambic pentameter, conjunction, more »
Hinglish Dictionary:
Words assimilated into English from Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi
Examples: chappal, hatke, machi-chips, more »
Idioms:
English phrases and forms of expression
Examples: tell it to the Marines, go to the wall, the whole nine yards, more »
International Word Origins:
Word origins of words used internationally
Examples: taboo, guru, bizarre, more »
Irish Literature Companion:
Sixteen centuries of the literature and literary culture of Ireland
Examples: Waiting for Godot, ballads in Ireland, The Abbey Theatre, more »
Latin Phrases:
Explanations of popular Latin phrases
Examples: hoi polloi, sui generis, populus vult decipi, decipiatur, more »
Literary Dictionary:
Explanations of literary terms from the traditional to the cutting-edge
Examples: palindrome, existentialism, discourse, more »
Literature and Its Times:
Famous literary works, explained and put in context
Examples: The Great Gatsby, The Light in the Forest, A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich, more »
Neologisms:
A guide to the biggest, boldest, fastest-changing language on earth.
Examples: uniname, framily, disemvowel, more »
New Words:
Listing of modern words
Examples: shoulder surfing, bait car, advertecture, more »
Obscure Words:
Words that have fallen out of common usage
Examples: prothalamion, orrery, abdabs, more »
Oxford Slang:
A guide to the colourful, alternative vocabulary that is slang, from World War I to the present
Examples: zooty, narky, gurk, more »
Phrases:
Meanings and origins of familiar phrases in English
Examples: rule of thumb, hoist by your own petard, a bed of roses, more »
Poetry:
List of poems and terms associated with them
Examples: Mending Wall, Casey at the Bat, more »
Poetry Glossary:
Glossary of poetry terms
Examples: Synesthetic Metaphor, Ballade, Allegory, more »
Quotes About:
Quotes from QuotationsBook.com
Examples: sacrifice, encouragement, Men and Women, more »
Quotes By:
Quotes from QuotationsBook.com
Examples: Mohandas Gandhi, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Mark Twain, more »
Rhyming Dictionary:
Help with the question "What rhymes with ___?" for 45,000 words
Examples: beginner, burnt, bedpan, more »
Rhyming Slang:
A guide to the shadowy, bawdy, witty world of rhyming slang
Examples: apple, eau de cologne, me and you, more »
Science Fiction Dictionary:
The development of science-fiction words and their associated concepts
Examples: multiverse, super-scientist, actifan, more »
Sign Language Videos:
Videos that demonstrate ASL, finger-spelled words, and other common signs
Examples: a lot, California, midnight, more »
Slang Dictionary:
The meaning and usage of slang and colloquial expressions in the United States.
Examples: brim, doowacky, licorice stick, more »
Study Guide:
SparkNotes online learning guides to literature
Examples: Cloud 9, Dante's Inferno, A Christmas Carol, more »
Thesaurus:
Synonyms, including related and contrasting words
Examples: sempiternal, poltroon, exotic, more »
Translations:
Words translated from English into 16 languages, including: Danish, Korean, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish.
Examples: translucent, peace, hello, more »
Webster 1913:
Webster 1913 dictionary edited by Patrick J. Cassidy
Examples: behither, Kalmia, naik, more »
Wikisource:
User driven collection of source texts
Examples: United States Bill of Rights, Paradise Lost, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, more »
Word Menu:
A new classification system for language and information
Examples: Pranks and Tricks, Carnivores, Stringed Instruments, more »
Word Menu Categories:
For each word, suggested categories of related words.
Examples: salt, bridge, crown, more »
Word Overheard:
Interesting words found on the internet
Examples: morganatic, obstreperous, efflorescence, more »
Word Tutor:
Spelling and usage help from eSpindle
Examples: fortuitous, misoneism, ubiquitous, more »
Works by Authors:
Literature works listed by authors
Examples: Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, more »



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