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DEFINITIONS
Lexicography or I’lm Al-Lughah. According to Ibn Khaldun, “This science concerned with
explaining the conventional meaning of the language”. He notified that a word may have
different meanings or contexts. Lexicography is the theory and practice of writing and editing
dictionary.
Meanwhile, a dictionary means a book that gives the words of language in alphabetical
order and explains their meaning or translates them into another language.
HISTORY
lexicographic works in the Arab world. These were books that explained the vocabulary of
specific subjects such as plants, animals etc. Arabic dictionaries were compiled in response to
practical needs. The 1st need is to protect the language of the revelation from the influence of the
nation that became part of the Islamic state. The 2nd need is to provide a learning and reference
tool about the Arabic language for Muslims. On the 8th century, Al Khalil bin Ahmad was the
earliest scholar who compiled a general Arabic dictionary entitled Kitab Al ‘Ain. It listed words
according to their sounds and the arrangement of glossaries did not follow the alphabetical order.
After that, the other dictionaries were emerged on 10 th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th, and 20th century.
In English historical, the first dictionary was produced in Latin and French glossaries.
Besides, the early dictionaries emerged on the 17th century, the Beginning of Modern
Dictionaries Practice were on the 18th, 19th and 20th century. The most famous dictionary entitled
Oxford English Dictionary was on 1928. After that, in 1980s, the lexicographers attempt to
describe English in order to give the reader a perspective of past achievement and a clearer
understanding. The historical overviews of dictionary making were happened in Great Britain
The lexicographer who the person who edits the dictionaries will explain the different
meaning depending on the context or conjunction or words linked to it. They also can be called
as dictionary writers. The tasks of lexicographers are to enrich and sort out the tangle of
confusion that makes a language such a challenge for all of us. They also should update the
For an example in Arabic vocabulary is the word ‘dharaba’ as a verb means to beat. It
also means to contact and give. These meanings are depended on certain functional words and
Otherwise, an example in English vocabulary is goal as a verb either noun. Goal means
the points scored when the ball goes into the goal. In addition, it also means the purpose of a
A word should be mentioned as the same part-of speech. A word in part-of-speech term
could be in the group of noun, verb, adjective, preposition, pronoun or others. In addition, the
more alternative as definition is for what is defines, the easier it is for the reader to use. The uses
of various meanings are useful for speaker, writers and who are interested in expressing
themselves. Some definition must include illustrative phrases. The meaning of the words that
1. Synonym definitions: may be divided into six major groups which are equivalent,
2. Referential definitions: states the general class and lists those relevant features that
3. Formulaic definitions: means words can be defined by the use of a formula such as “of or
relating to”. These formulaic definitions are particularly useful when the lexicographers
The dictionary will provide people more information and widely different meaning. The
kinds of information will be found in a dictionary are main headword, sample sentences, part of
Certainly, dictionary will help people finding the meaning of words more quickly and
also makes it easy to compare different word usages on provided vocabularies. A dictionary is a
book listing the words of a language with translations into another language and also provided
linguistic items in a particular category or subject with specialized information about them.
Furthermore, the definition will explain in simple and straightforward is the various
meanings of the vocabulary are provided in dictionaries. It can help people use the words
Dictionaries can be used to check spellings, to learn new word that you encounter. The
students themselves should discover and explore the dictionaries in order to obtain the new
knowledge in their studies. Definitely, they will travel in the world of information while will
Islam enjoins human beings to gain knowledge and indeed the Quran mentions the word
of knowledge (Al I’lm) sometimes relates with Allah And also relates with human beings. This
“Say, as the knowledge of the time, it is with Allah alone, I am sent only to warn plainly in
public.”
People who study the words in dictionaries, looking for the meanings may be exposed to
many kinds of interpretation that may distinguish the real meaning. Thus, people should aware
and cautious in the concept of meaning as Allah has promised in Surah At-Tariq, verse 26 means:
These verses have shown the vital aspect in using words beneficially in order to reach
Lexicography is all about editing and writing a dictionary. In reality, what does a
dictionary do for you? Through a dictionary the students can enlarge and enrich their vocabulary
and able to apply in their writing skill. It can avoid their writing skills look boring and dull.
Consequently, their writing skill will be more creative so it may impress the lecturers and other
students. As well for students who succeed observing the correct meaning will develop their
language well because the human languages are unique and worthy of studies.
Certainly, language is a symbol of system that combined the rules of grammar for the
purpose of interaction. Islam views the languages as the medium to propagate. Human beings
should use soft and proper languages in all way such as writing and speaking in order to
propagate good deeds and forbid evil. Our role model, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to speak
in proper and soft manner. Interaction becomes the very crucial activity in our daily life.
academic in languages studies as a field of study. Language also is a medium to emphasize the
important of knowledge. For examples Arabic, English, French, Mandarin and other languages
cover the issues of particular literature and linguistics. People will explore their own questions
about languages and understand more fully the languages that they see and hear. Thereby, they
will become more active and participants in the construction of language knowledge.