Searching the dictionary

A dictionary lookup may be performed against three different types of search terms:

1. A word or phrase in English
2. A word or phrase in Yiddish, using Yiddish characters
3. A word or phrase in Yiddish, using English characters according to YIVO standard romanization

For more information on the YIVO transliteration standard, see this page.

Returning exact matches

When selected, only entries that contain the exact search term will be returned by a dictionary lookup. A search for the word laugh, for instance, will return the entries for laugh and laugh until you cry, but not the entries for laughter or slaughter

When unselected, a dictionary lookup will return all possible matches against your search term, including matches that are internal to words. A search for the word car, for instance, will also return the dictionary entries for carrot and scarf, among many others.

How to read dictionary entries

Each result returned by a dictionary lookup is given in a card that looks like this:

The top row contains an English word and its Yiddish translation. The bottom row contains the YIVO-standard transliteration of the Yiddish word, followed by any additional pronunciation information, such as dialectical differences or where accents fall in a Yiddish word, followed by the word's part-of-speech.