Useless dictionary!

[Witty Username]

I just need to have a small rant about the English dictionary provided by Kobo.
I don't often need to look up a word but yesterday I found 'propitiatory' in the book I'm reading. So I pressed for a definition as it wasn't clear from the context.

Kobo provides this:

Propitiatory
1. intended to propitiate: expiatory
2. of or relating to propitiation.

So I pressed 'propitiation' and got:

1. the act of propitiating
2. something that propitiates
3. an atoning sacrifice

I now know I should have pressed propitiate next to get the actual definition but why isn't the word explained under propitiatory in the first place!

NB while I'm ranting - expiatory, according to Kobo dictionary, means serving to expiate. Who produces the dictionary definitions for Kobo - Baldrick and Prince George? It's about as much use as they were to Blackadder!!

( Blackadder series 3 episode 2: Ink and Incapability )

[dclauzel]

I completely agree. And the number of entries is pretty limited, too. Try reading books where characters are using proper English with a pleasant vocabulary and… whoosh! Nothing to see, move along.

The English dictionary is also very limited when it comes to common technical words. That is bad, because what we need are definitions for words that we don't know, and not 4 screens on "horse" or "house".

[davidfor]

I don't see any credits for the dictionary in the current firmware. But, previously it was shown as a Mirriam-Webster dictionary. From memory, there are several different levels of the dictionary and from the count of definitions it was the smallest free dictionary.

And yes, there are some "interesting" definitions. Generally, I don't many problems with the dictionary supplied, but it is a pity that Kobo don't offer an upgrade to other dictionaries.

[dvd8n]

Originally Posted by davidfor

it is a pity that Kobo don't offer an upgrade to other dictionaries.

Absolutely. I'd pay money for a better dictionary. It's really noticeable how poor the dictionary is compared to the one on my last Sony.

[Doitsu]

If you look up propitiatory in the UK edition of the default Kindle dictionary, you'll get the following definition from the Oxford Dictionary of English:

propitiate /prəˈpɪʃɪeɪt/ v. [with obj.] win or regain the favour of (a god, spirit, or person) by doing something that pleases them: the pagans thought it was important to propitiate the gods with sacrifices. <DERIVATIVES> propitiation n. propitiator n. propitiatory adj.

If dictionary quality is important to you, you might want to consider a Kindle or a Kindle app. Since the apps come with same dictionaries as the Kindles, you can install any of the Kindle apps and test the coverage of the dictionaries.

[OrientalReader]

yep, i totally agree. got those annoying definitions several times! does anyone know a good free dictionary like wiktionary in kobo format?

[indyglow]

Alternate dictionaries are available here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=196925