Looking for an English vocabulary...

Question

Hi, there:I am looking for an English vocabulary for my desktop PC. Basically the list ofALL the English words...As full as possible...in a text file.Anyone knows where to find that?Best Regards,Kelvin

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi, there: I am looking for an English vocabulary for my desktop PC. Basically the list of ALL the English words...As full as possible...in a text file. Anyone knows where to find that?[/nq]
AUE Website
Intro B: Useful Web Sites for AUE Participants
"Word Lists"
http://www.alt-usage-english.org/intro b.shtml#Wordlists

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, there: I am looking for an English vocabulary for my desktop PC. Basically the list of ALL the English words...As full as possible...in a text file. Anyone knows where to find that? Best Regards, Kelvin[/nq]
On my Linux box this file is /usr/share/dic/words. It has 45,427 words. The head and tail reads:
Aarhus
Aaron
Ababa
aback
...
Zulu
Zulus
Zurich
If you're using Linux do a "locate" to find this file on your computer.

Usenet · Answer

(Email Removed) wrote, in part:
[nq:2]I am looking for an English vocabulary for my desktop PC. ALL the English words...As full as possible...in a text file. [/nq]
[nq:1]On my Linux box this file is /usr/share/dic/words. It has 45,427 words. The head and tail reads: Aarhus Aaron Ababa aback ... Zulu Zulus Zurich[/nq]
What, no 'zymurgy'? 'aardvark'?
Michael Hamm NB: Of late, my e-mail address is being AM, Math, Wash. U. St. Louis 'spoofed' a bit. That is, spammers send (Email Removed) e-mail that seems to be from me. Please http://math.wustl.edu/~msh210/ realize that no spam is in fact from me.

Usenet · Answer

...
[nq:2]Hi, there: I am looking for an English vocabulary for ... ALL the English words...As full as possible...in a text file.[/nq]
[nq:1]On my Linux box this file is /usr/share/dic/words. It has 45,427 words. The head and tail reads: Aarhus Zurich If you're using Linux do a "locate" to find this file on your computer.[/nq]
Don't trust a wordlist which doesn't include 'aardvark' or 'zymurgy'. 'Aachen' and the other z-word I'm too honest to check in the dictionary for are of less importance.
Presumably there's a way of gaining random access to your spellchecker's wordlist.
Mike.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hi, there: I am looking for an English vocabulary for ... file. Anyone knows where to find that? Best Regards, Kelvin[/nq]
[nq:1]On my Linux box this file is /usr/share/dic/words. It has 45,427 words.[/nq]
There are about 800,000 words to choose from.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, there: I am looking for an English vocabulary for my desktop PC. Basically the list of ALL the English words...As full as possible...in a text file.[/nq]
What you're actually looking for is called a dictionary! ;-)

To be quite honest, if you want a file containing all the words in the English language then you will have a file with several hundred thousand words - even excluding the definitions. The Oxford English Dictionary, which attempts to list every word ever used in English, amounts to several dozen volumes with very large pages on very thin paper with very small print. I don't think a text file would be able to cope with that, considering that the digital version of the dictionary is now on DVD IIRC.

Your bewst bet for finding something useful is to follow the links suggested by Donna Richoux.
Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I am looking for an English vocabulary for my desktop ... the English words...As full as possible...in a text file. [/nq]
[nq:1]Intro B: Useful Web Sites for AUE Participants "Word Lists" http://www.alt-usage-english.org/intro b.shtml#Wordlists[/nq]
There was, and, perhaps, is, a list on the Web of the words defined in W2ID; it's not linked to, afaIct, from any of the pages linked to from the page at the URL above. I don't have the URL at hand, and my Googling cursorily isn't finding it, but I have it at home, and, iIrc, will post a followup hereto therefrom including it.
Michael Hamm NB: Of late, my e-mail address is being AM, Math, Wash. U. St. Louis 'spoofed' a bit. That is, spammers send (Email Removed) e-mail that seems to be from me. Please http://math.wustl.edu/~msh210/ realize that no spam is in fact from me.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, there: I am looking for an English vocabulary for my desktop PC. Basically the list of ALL the English words...As full as possible...in a text file. Anyone knows where to find that?[/nq]
The alt.usage.english FAQ has a section on word lists. If you don't like my answer below, check there.
Frankly, you are asking for something that cannot exist. Even if someone accomplished it, by the time of publication even on the web it would be out of date. For a good approximation, see Grady Ward's lists at
[nq:1]http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/research/ilash/Moby/[/nq]
, in particular "The largest word list in the world" at
[nq:1]http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/research/ilash/Moby/mwords.html[/nq]
. These lists, however, date from 1996.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]There was, and, perhaps, is, a list on the Web of the words defined in W2ID;[/nq]
There is, strictly speaking, no Webster's Second International Dictionary. The sequence begins with Webster's International, published by Merriam in 1890. (Dates may not be exact.) It was followed by the New International (1905), the New International (Second Edition)(1934) and the New International (Third Edition)(1961), which is the latest Merriam-Webster unabridged. Last I heard there were no plans to bring out a Fourth Edition. The Third has now been current for 43 years, far more than any predecessor. And the Second is seventy years old, which is a bit long in the tooth to be much good for anything.
[nq:1]it's not linked to, afaIct, from any of the pages linked to from the page at the URL above. I ... cursorily isn't finding it, but I have it at home, and, iIrc, will post a followup hereto therefrom including it.[/nq]
If the list is really from the New International (Second),(1) it's going to have gray hair and be missing a huge cohort of new words added to the language in the seven decades since publication. Not to say that it isn't better than nothing at all and I'd like to see it but it's hardly ideal.
(1) Since anyone can put the label "Webster's" on a dictionary, it might be something totally different. In which case, never mind.

Bob Lieblich
Dicationaryphile

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]There was, and, perhaps, is, a list on the Web of the words defined in W2ID [/nq]
[nq:1]If the list is really from the New International (Second),(1) it's going to have gray hair and be missing a ... that it isn't better than nothing at all and I'd like to see it but it's hardly ideal.[/nq]
The URL I have is
http://www.mit.edu/afs/athena/astaff/reference/4.3network2/share/dict/web2 which is the list, so a large file. For info on the list, see http://www.mit.edu/afs/athena/astaff/reference/4.3network2/share/dict/

Perhaps add it to the FAQ, then (which is how this sub-thread started)?

Michael Hamm NB: Of late, my e-mail address is being AM, Math, Wash. U. St. Louis 'spoofed' a bit. That is, spammers send (Email Removed) e-mail that seems to be from me. Please http://math.wustl.edu/~msh210/ realize that no spam is in fact from me.

Looking for an English vocabulary...

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions