thesaurus
There are capacity reasons why a dictionary, thesaurus, rhyme dictionary, usage dictionary, and etymology library can’t be fused into a physical artifact. It would be tens of thousands of pages. But why can’t we combine them all together into a digital interface? I’m sure this has been tried…
Dean’s Thesaurus: 1,000 words to save us from extinction (logo: dinosaur)
What are the irreducible semantic units behind any language? I want to figure that out, draw them in 50 or so diagrams, and put it on a poster.
Here is what AI suggests are the differences between synonyms:
... See moreConnotation: Connotation refers to the emotional or cultural associations that a word carries beyond its literal meaning (denotation). For example, "slender," "thin," and "skinny" might be considered synonyms, but each has a different connotation – "slender" is often positive, "thin" is
For the semantheon, roots should be indivisible. A root obviously has multiple synonyms. Synonyms can have multiple roots (and it’s also need to think that the variation between synonyms comes from a relationship with another root.) But you can’t link roots to other roots. For example: “before” and “in front” can be synonyms (“I stood before it” /
... See moreA thesaurus is a word treasury.
Imagine a “situational thesaurus.” Instead of just unpacking related words, you unpack all the contexts that a word can apply. Examples:
addle — social media, work, disinformation (dilution from quantity)
faustian — VR / AGI or e/acc, finance, cloning, influencers, adderall, steroids
platonic — solids, relationships, education, leisure, cognition
The standard tool to find webs of language are synonyms & antonym, but these are lossy devices. Consider a word like “uproar:” the antonyms are obvious (“harmony”) and if you look up the definitions of the synonyms (“bedlam, tumult, pandemonium”), they all say “uproar.” It’s circular!
In reality, every synonym should have a distinct meaning: be
... See morelemma (n.) : a family of words that all share the same words (ie: develop = development, developing, developmental, underdeveloped, redevelop, etc.)