10-20-2009, 01:00 PM | #1 |
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English Thesaurus in the dictionary format
James C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms: with notes on the correct use of prepositions
A Practical and Invaluable Guide to Clear and Precise Diction for Writers, Speakers, Students, Business Persons and Professionals You can purchase this dictionary for the Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TG4NYC. The easy way to find it on your Kindle is to search for the word "osnova" in the Kindle store. Right after the KJV Bible, I published on Amazon a thesaurus dictionary by James Fernald. I've been working on this text (converting to the electronic form, proofreading, revising, updating) on and off for about two years now. It's in the Kindle dictionary format and works quite well on my Kindle. If you do not want to pay for this book, you can download a different version (not mine) from the Gutenberg project for free. The other copy is the exact copy of the paper one; it is not in a dictionary format. Mine is based on a much more recent edition of Fernald's. It is also revised, updated, and specifically adapted to be used as a dictionary on the Kindle. Fernald’s acclaimed dictionary of synonyms and antonyms provides detailed articles discriminating the shades in meaning and usage between synonyms. Now, for the first time, it is available in the Kindle electronic dictionary format with an integrated index and excellent navigation – just type in a word to see the list of available articles or select a letter in the table of contents to read it as a regular book. See the screenshots for an illustration. Based on the 28th edition published by Funk & Wagnalls Company in 1914; significantly revised, updated, and adapted for the electronic use by OSNOVA in 2009. A quick note: at this time, I do not guarantee that all features will work on Kindle 1 because I do not have access to it. Please do not use the sample generated automatically by Amazon (it cripples most of the features of the dictionary). If you need a sample download it right here. What others have said about Ferndald’s work:
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10-20-2009, 01:12 PM | #2 | |
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Quote:
Kindle Store › Kindle Books › Reference › Dictionaries & Thesauruses but not in: Kindle Store › Kindle Books › Reference › Dictionaries & Thesauruses › Kindle Default Dictionaries. Can this be used as the Kindle default dictionary? |
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10-20-2009, 01:29 PM | #3 |
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You *can* make it a default dictionary (in the settings on your Kindle); however, I do not know how useful it would be (it has much fewer words than a typical general dictionary). This is why I do not promote it as a replacement to the default dictionary. However, if you think this could be useful, let me know.
Also, I have not tested this on Kindle 1 (don't have one). I have put a disclaimer to that effect. Please try the sample (above - not the one from Amazon) first. By the way, I am thinking of making an updated Soule's thesaurus in the Kindle dictionary format. It has more words and synonyms but does not provide definitions or any explanations about the differences in meaning as this one does. Please let me know if there is interest. I am also considering making other mono- and bilingual dictionaries. If you have any suggestions on which ones to make (must be public domain), let me know. Last edited by osnova; 10-20-2009 at 01:49 PM. |
10-20-2009, 04:13 PM | #4 |
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I'm confused. Did you make this book, or was it published by someone else?
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10-20-2009, 09:02 PM | #5 |
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I (Osnova) have made and published this dictionary. I converted the text of an old paper dictionary to an electronic format, and then revised and updated it. Hope this clears up any confusion.
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10-20-2009, 09:32 PM | #6 |
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Was the dictionary out of copyright? If not, we can't have it linked here on MobileRead. If it is out of copyright, then no problem.
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10-20-2009, 09:58 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
I do not claim copyright in the original text of the 1914 edition, which is public domain (as a published pre-1923 work); yet I do claim my own copyright in the revisions to the text. So, for any copyrighted text, I am the copyright holder. Why wouldn't you allow me to link it here? Last edited by osnova; 10-20-2009 at 10:07 PM. |
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10-21-2009, 09:32 AM | #8 |
Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah!
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Sorry, I missed that bit. Thanks for clarifying.
If you are the copyright holder and want to link it here, that's not a problem. |
10-23-2009, 10:31 AM | #9 |
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I just purchased, and it looks like a fine effort. The price was a little steeper than expected, given that the source lacks more modern words, but I believe it will still be a good thesaurus and if so it will be a good deal. I can also say that, having tried to create a Kindle dictionary from PD sources in the past, I recognize the effort to put it together is significant.
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10-23-2009, 03:39 PM | #10 | |
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Yeah, that's the rub. I have started from scratch, OCRing and proofreading, revising and somewhat updating the text, then converting it to the Kindle dictionary format. It took me a long time. If I take a PD text from Gutenberg or another source, then the effort is minimal. I prefer to add something new, not just repackage the already available. Now that people are used to free or dirt cheap e-books, $7 seems expensive. I guess I'll have to lower the price. What do you think would be a more attractive price for people? Last edited by osnova; 10-23-2009 at 03:45 PM. |
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10-23-2009, 04:30 PM | #11 |
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Most retailers find that if you end the price with .95, then you get more purchases. 6.95 or 5.95 would be a better attention grabber.
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10-23-2009, 05:36 PM | #12 |
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It is true that we have a bunch of free and $1 books available, but they are not in the dictionary / thesaurus class so that didn't impact my view. The only caveat here is the the source is nearly 100 years old and thus is missing the more modern words, and this was an initial response. In any case, $7 for a good thesaurus is not too expensive, it comes down to the overall utility, and note that it didn't stop me from buying in the end. If it were me, I wouldn't jump up and lower the price yet, I would monitor sales and let that be the guide. For what it is worth, I think that if the price had been something like $4.95 when I first clicked on the link it wouldn't have struck me as steep at all. Again, I wouldn't change anything based on only one data point.
One other thing, which may or may not be relevant - a few years ago I created a shareware program for Palm devices where the money went to charity. Initially I sold it for $5 and sales were less than stellar. However, the people who were buying were using the program in their job (not my original expectation) and they enthusiastically sent me ideas to tweak it and make it better. I did so and figured, heck, it must be worth more now so I doubled the price to $10. Lo and behold, sales shot up like a bat out of Hades. In the end the charity received over $23,000 as a result of this and a couple of other small shareware programs I did. I realized the original price just looked too low to people for them to believe the product to be any good, but once it was in a range where a decent program might be found (it was still a bargain, by the way) people were willing to try and buy. There is a real impact from the expection of 'you get what you pay for' that influences buying behavior, so you should keep this in mind as well. |
10-27-2009, 01:22 AM | #13 |
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I have reduced the price to $3.95
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11-17-2009, 08:44 PM | #14 |
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If you've read my other posts, you may have noticed that I have published a large number of Bibles for the Kindle (KJV, WEB, NET and a free Chinese Union translation, more foreign translations are in the works). My other interest is dictionaries.
I have just released another Kindle dictionary -- Soule's Dictionary of Synonyms. Unlike, Fernald's dictionary of synonyms, this one has more entries and more synonyms in each entry; however, it does not discuss the differences in meaning between synonyms. Wherever I could, I have updated the spelling to more closely reflect the current spelling. However, some words in the dictionary sometimes are dated (the original Soule's was published in the late nineteenth century). Despite its vintage, I find this dictionary extremely useful (I have a large collection of old and modern dictionaries and thesauri). Words become overused and trite. We all repeat them. Forgotten words that are out of fashion may provide that new perspective and freshen up a text or speech. For your enjoyment, I present Soule's Dictionary of Synonyms. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002XDR6W2 P.S. A hook: I am currently working with Amazon to fix a technical issue with their system that prevents my other yet-unannounced dictionary from going "live." It is a modern dictionary. The compressed file size is more than 80 Mb, which probably makes it the largest dictionary for the Kindle. Last edited by osnova; 11-17-2009 at 08:51 PM. |
12-12-2009, 06:42 PM | #15 |
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Fernald's English Synonyms and Antonyms Dictionary, Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms and the WEB Bible are on Christmas sale for $0.99.
Please leave feedback on Amazon if you like my publications. |
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