Back-end Software and Database Credits

The following information is from Rik Faith <faith@cs.unc.edu>, with minor updates as things change and I receive notification of the changes.

Databases and Software

Currently, two databases are being searched. The first is the 1913 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (G & C. Merriam Co., 1913, edited by Noah Porter), provided by Patrick Cassidy of MICRA, Inc., Plainfield, NJ, USA. An earlier version of the complete text of the Webster's Dictionary is available at the Gutenberg Project. Another interface to this dictionary is available. The second is the WordNet® 1.5 database. Another interface to this dictionary is available. The dictionary database server software (dict) was written by Rik Faith, and is currently undergoing alpha testing. The software may be finished and released under the GPL by the end of 1997.

Other Notes

The headwords from the 1913 Webster's are capitalized and usually contain hyphenation and etymological information, whereas the WordNet headwords are usually all lowercase (except for proper nouns) and never have hyphenation, pronunciation, or etymological information. Be aware that some of the definitions from 1913 are very much out of date, and that some of the WordNet definitions are incomplete. In the future HTML formatting, source information, and search capabilities will be improved, and more databases will be added. Wildcard matching does not work at this time. The following words in the 1913 Webster's end in gry: Aggry Angry Gry Hungry.