I've taken up the practice of trying to look up every unfamiliar word I encounter while I'm reading. When I'm not near a computer, I write the words on an index card that doubles as a bookmark so that I can look those words up later. However, I often lose the context of the word, and this practice does not help me understand the word while I'm reading the relevant passage. I think it may be more handy to carry a pocket-sized dictionary with me. My question is: what is the best pocket dictionary?
I want a thorough dictionary, and I really like etymologies because I tend to remember definitions better when I know why words mean what they mean. At the same time, I don't want a book that is cumbersome to carry around. Any advice?
Thanks in advance!
It sounds like a paper pocket dictionary isn't really going to do the trick. I don't think any of them include etymologies and their headword counts are so minimal that you're unlikely to find difficult words in them. I don't have a great deal of familiarity with electronic dictionaries, but you might look into the ones made by Franklin that include Merriam-Webster's collegiate, which does include some etymologies.
I was just going to suggest a Franklin dictionary as well, mjhillman06, although like Grant, I don't have much familiarity with the English-language versions. Those dictionaries can hold a lot of information, but the one drawback I've seen is that they're dictionaries you can actually BREAK. So far I've accidentally stepped on two Spanish-English versions and broken them, unfortunately. They're completely unusable. But they're so handy that the next time I get a chance to snap up one of them, I probably will, and just try to be a lot more careful about where I set it down.
Btw, mjhillman06: Very good practice you're taking up there!
Thanks, Grant and Martha. Your responses make me think this might be yet another good reason to get a good, Internet-capable phone, like the iPhone. I will certainly be able to find whatever I need then!