For those who want to know why this is important, check out this blog post: <a href="https://jsomers.net/blog/dictionary" rel="nofollow">https://jsomers.net/blog/dictionary</a><p>For those who want to give it a try on other operating systems, check out this website: <a href="https://www.websters1913.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.websters1913.com/</a>
As a writer, having the Webster's 1913 accessible in the macos app so I can quickly search for a word using an Alfred workflow has proven a super valuable resource for me. I do this several times a day.<p>There's also a nice little ios app of the same dictionary:
<a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/websters-writers-dictionary/id943993346" rel="nofollow">https://apps.apple.com/us/app/websters-writers-dictionary/id...</a>
I use it alongside Terminology (made by the excellent 'Drafts' dev):
<a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/terminology-dictionary/id687798859" rel="nofollow">https://apps.apple.com/us/app/terminology-dictionary/id68779...</a>
I love the Dictionary tool in macOS, because it's a cool throwback to NEXTSTEP -- specifically the built-in dictionary, "Digital Webster":<p><a href="https://systemfolder.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/next-webster/" rel="nofollow">https://systemfolder.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/next-webster/</a>
I love <i>having</i> an OSX embedded dictionary but boy-o-boy, I hate how easily it appears I trigger it, highlighting words for a right-click function other than "look it up in the dictionary"<p>Dammit, I just wanted to right click "Web search" that term. Now.. I have to remember how to make this dictionary popover disappear, and keep the selection.
In French, always the Littré: <a href="https://www.littre.org/" rel="nofollow">https://www.littre.org/</a><p>The exact opposite of dry, modern dictionary, you can read it along for the quality of its prose, and its numerous and interesting quotes.
Dictionary.app is one of my favorite macOS programs; I use it regularly, and Dictionary.app is something that I miss whenever I'm not on my Mac.<p>I'm wondering if there are similar offline dictionaries available for Windows and Linux? I know at one point the Oxford English Dictionary was distributed on CD-ROM, but the CD-ROM version is unfortunately discontinued and access requires an online subscription. I also remember Microsoft Bookshelf from the 1990s, but that's also been long discontinued.<p>I know that there are plenty of nice dictionaries and other references on the Web, but I like using offline dictionaries for a handful of reasons, chiefly:
1. Having offline access is handy when my Internet connection is down.
2. The latency of doing a lookup on Dictionary.app is much lower than looking up a Web dictionary.
3. Not being bombarded with other media to keep me engaged on the site (I'm looking at you, merriam-webster.com).<p>I would love to pay a company like Merriam Webster or Oxford University Press for downloadable access to the dictionary database, and I'm willing to pay the same price as the equivalent printed dictionary. However, I understand the business motivation as to why this may not be possible: it would be easy to pirate dictionary databases, and it possibly more lucrative to place the database behind either a subscription paywall or on a website with ads.
If you're looking for an alternative dictionary on mobile, check out Vedaist (<a href="https://www.vedaist.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.vedaist.com/</a>). The dictionary entries are based on Wiktionary (<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page" rel="nofollow">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page</a>) and I'd expect more modern meanings compared to the Webster's 1913. The UI is a subjective choice though.<p>The mac default dictionary is great for offline use and passive learning. With vedaist features are geared towards active learning with gamification.<p>Disclosure; I'm the creator of the Vedaist project.
On debian you can install it with the package dict-gcide<p><a href="https://packages.debian.org/en/sid/dict-gcide" rel="nofollow">https://packages.debian.org/en/sid/dict-gcide</a>