Sharp PW-E350 New Oxford American Dictionary, Introduction, Structure Core Sense and Subsense

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Introductions to the

Dictionaries

The New Oxford American Dictionary

Introduction

The New Oxford American Dictionary has been compiled according to principles that are quite different from those of traditional American dictionaries. New types of evidence are now available in sufficient quantity to allow lexicographers to construct a picture of the language that is more accurate than has been possible before. The approach to structuring and organizing within individual dictionary entries has been rethought, as has the approach to the selection and presentation of information in every aspect of the dictionary: definitions, choice of examples, grammar, word histories, and every other category. New approaches have been adopted in response to a reappraisal of the workings of language in general and its relation- ship to the presentation of information in a dictionary in particular. The aim of this introduction is to give the user background information for using this dictionary and to explain some of the thinking behind these new approaches.

Structure: Core Sense and Subsense

The first part of speech is the primary one for that word: thus, for bag and balloon the senses of the noun are given before those for the verb, while for babble and bake the senses of the verb are given before those of the noun.

nose

CORE SENSE

the part projecting above the mouth on the face of a person or animal,

containing the nostrils and used for breathing and smelling.

SUBSENSE

SUBSENSE

SUBSENSE

the sense of smell, esp. a

figurative an instinctive

the aroma of a particular

dog’s ability to track

talent for detecting

substance, esp. wine.

something by its scent:

something:

 

a dog with a keen nose.

he has a nose for a

 

 

good script.

 

Within each part of speech, the first definition given is the core sense. The general principle on which the senses in the New Oxford American Dictionary are organized is that each word has at least one core meaning, to which a number of subsenses may be attached. If there is more than one core sense (see below), this is introduced by a bold sense number. Core meanings represent typical, central uses of the word in question in modern standard English, as established by research on and analysis of American and World English through corpora (language databanks) and citation databases. The core meaning is the one that represents the most literal sense that the word has in ordinary modern American usage. This is not necessar- ily the same as the oldest meaning, because word meanings change over time. Nor is it necessarily the most frequent meaning, because figurative senses are sometimes the most frequent. It is the meaning accepted by native speakers as the one that is most established as literal and central.

The core sense also acts as a gateway to other, related subsenses. These subsenses are grouped under the core sense, each one being introduced by a solid square symbol.

There is a logical relationship between each subsense and the core sense under which it appears. The organization of senses according to this logical relationship is designed to help the user, not only in being able to navigate the entry more easily and find relevant senses more readily, but also in building up an understanding of how senses in the language relate to one another and how the language is constructed on this model. The main types of relationship of core sense to subsense are as follows:

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Contents PW-E350 Introduction Contents Getting Started Using the PW-E350 for the first timeKey notation used in this manual Turning the power on/offAuto power off function To attach a commercially available strapData contained in the PW-E350 Layout Key assignments Display symbolsOperation guidance message Inputting words for a dictionary search Basic OperationSelecting a dictionary / function in the main menu Filter search view selecting an item scrolling List view selecting an item scrollingShifting the displayed character size z Detailed view scrollingRecalling the terms previously searched h Searching a word on the screen Listing a summary of detailed view items qBrowsing Notes r Set-up Menu Setting the key sound on/offInputting Characters Setting the Auto power off activation timeAdjusting the LCD contrast Starting Auto Demo modeDeleting unnecessary characters Modifying entryIf there is no match found Looking up a word Filter searchBrowsing Notes Crossword solver Phrase searchSpellcheck function Anagram solverIf the list of words does not appear as expected Further informationUsing the Oxford American Thesaurus of Current English Phrase search How to use the Super jump function Using the Super jump functionAbout the detailed view after the Jump Specifying a Dictionary to jump toDeleting a history item How to use the History functionDeleting the history list of a Dictionary Calculation examples Prior to initiating calculationsExample Operation Display Currency converter Setting a currency rateConverting currencies Units capable of being converted Metric converterWhen to replace the battery Replacing the batteryBattery used PrecautionsSpecifications Reset procedure if trouble occursReset procedures Troubleshooting Nose New Oxford American DictionaryIntroduction Structure Core Sense and SubsenseSpecialized case of the core sense, e.g Encyclopedic Material Specialist VocabularyTerms relating to adjectives GrammarTerms relating to nouns Terms relating to verbsSpecialist Reading Evidence and Illustrative ExamplesTerms relating to adverbs Databank and Citation EvidenceUsage Notes Word HistoriesExamples Standard English Spelling World EnglishVerbs Variant spellingsHyphenation InflectionAdjectives NounsSyllabification Key to the Pronunciations Stress Marks Foreign SoundsVariant Pronunciations Gamble, .... chance on/ upon Oxford American Thesaurus of Current EnglishRelationship of Meanings Grammatical DifferencesRestricted Usage 4329 MemoVisit our Web Site Send an E-mail 3044Write to our Customer Assistance Center Limited Warranty Sharp Electronics Corporation