Spanish vocabulary
I realized today that I find it difficult to remember words if I know nothing of their etymology—somehow, knowing something of a word’s life story makes it easier to remember. So I went to Amazon and a Spanish etymological dictionary is on its way to me.
I’ll also need to find a good dictionary of Spanish synonyms. Synonomy is concerned with the distinctions among a set of words with overlapping meanings, so that you can learn the nuances of meaning. In other words, a dictionary of synonyms is useful because it distinguishes among words that mean almost but not exactly the same thing. I’ve used my Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms a lot, and I highly recommend it to people who prize accuracy in discourse. (I note that it seems to be out of print: pick up a good used copy while you can. Great book just to browse in, with surprises on every page.)
The non plus ultra of Spanish dictionaries is published by “La Real Academia Española” there is a free online version @ http://rae.es/rae.html. Also check this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Academia_Española.
With regards to synonyms, this is what I used in high school: http://openlibrary.org/books/OL9135175M/Vox_Diccionario_Manual_De_Sinonimos_Y_Antonimos_Vox_Dictionary_of_Synonyms_and_Antonyms
Lucas
5 April 2011 at 1:53 pm
Many thanks. At the Real Academia page, they refer to “Diccionario panhispánico de dudas” — a Panhispanic dictionary of doubts? What on earth?
LeisureGuy
5 April 2011 at 2:20 pm