Dictionary (software)

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Dictionary
<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">Image:Apple Dictionary querying wiki.png The Dictionary window with the new Tiger visual theme</td></tr><tr><th>Developer:</th><td>Apple Computer</td></tr><tr><th>Latest release:</th><td>1.0.1 / </td></tr><tr><th>OS:</th><td>Mac OS X</td></tr>
Use:	dictionary
Website:	http://www.apple.com

Dictionary is an application introduced with Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger". It provides definitions and synonyms from the New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd Edition and Oxford American Writers Thesaurus, 1st Edition.

[edit] History

Image:OPENSTEP Digital Webster.jpg

OS X's progenitor, OPENSTEP (and NEXTSTEP) provided similar functionality, called Digital Webster, providing dictionary and thesaurus definitions from Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary and Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus (termed the "First Digital Edition"). OPENSTEP Services provide lookup from all applications.

[edit] Functionality

The dictionary and thesaurus in Dictionary are in an XML format, but make use of precompiled binary index files to access the XML file directly, excluding the option of expansion of the dictionary.

The application itself uses a new GUI theme, a variation on Aqua which is present in System Preferences. The application also behaves in a different manner than expected to other Macintosh applications, where the application is quit when its sole window is closed, rather than remaining resident when all windows are closed.

The key combination ⌃ ⌘ D can be used in Cocoa applications which display text — it brings up a small contextual menu-like definition or synonym of the word under the cursor.

Apple have also included a Dashboard Widget for accessing the Dictionary application. In applications which support "Services", there is an option in the application menu (for example, Safari>Services>Look up in Dictionary) which brings up the Dictionary application and displays the definition of a selected word.

The application's preferences allow a user to select from three different pronunciation schemes.

Note: the lexicon of the English language spell checking services (which are also universally accessible in Cocoa applications) are not the same as the Dictionary's lexicon. Thus, the New Oxford American Dictionary 2nd Edition is not the basis for spell checking in Mac OS X "Tiger".