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Not even a native speaker knows all the words of his own language. Technical vocabulary is used only by specialists and so is not generally known by non-specialists. Here you will find dictionaries and glossaries of specialized words in the English language.

New specialties and dictionaries are constantly being added to YourDictionary.com's Specialty Dictionary Department. If you do not see what you need today, return soon and you will find it here. If you do not find what you need, drop us a line and we will try to find it for you.

Accounting	Advertising	Agriculture	Anthropology
Archeology	Architecture	Art	Astronomy
Automobiles	Aviation	Beauty	Beer
Beverages	Biography	Biology	Botany
Business	Carpentry	Ceramics	Chemistry
Children	Chocolate	Clothing	Coffee
Collecting	Computing	Construction	Cooking
Crafts	Criminology	Crosswords	Dance
Dentistry	Dialects	Dinosaurs	e-Commerce
Economics	Education	Elections	Electronics
Energy	Engineering	Entomology	Environment
Etymology	Film	Finance	Fish
Food Industry	Forestry	Furniture	Gambling
Games	Genealogy	Geography	Geology
Golf	Grammar	History	Horology
Internet	Investment	Humor	Hunting
Idioms	Insurance	Jewelry	Labor Relations
Law	Leather	Library	Linguistics
Liquor	Literature	Magic	Marketing
Mathematics	Measures	Media	Medicine
Metallurgy	Meteorology	Military	Mining
Multimedia	Music	Mythology	Names
Nationalism	Net Lingo	Oil & Gas	Paleontology
Paper-making	Pharmacy	Philosophy	Photography
Physics	Politics	Pools & Spas	Printing
Professions	Psychology	Publishing	Quotations
Railroads	Real Estate	Recreation	Religion
Retailing	Rhetoric	Robotics	Safety
Sailing	Science	Security	Shakespeare
Shipping	Slang	Sociology	Space
Sports	Statistics	Telecom	Terrorism
Textiles	Theater	Tools	Trade
Transportation	Travel	Weather	Water
Wine

Construction Dictionaries

• Building Glossary
• Concrete Vocabulary
• Construction Glossary
• Glossary of Building Pathology
• Glossary of Composite Materials
• Glossary of Roofing Terms (PDF file; begins on p. 27)
• Glossary of Windows
• HTML Glossary of Composite Materials Technology
• Index of Composite Material Glossaries
• List of Roofing Terms
• See also Architecture

Cooking Dictionary Resources

• BBC's Food Glossary
• Cooks Recipes Cooking Dictionary
• Culinary Dictionary
• Gastronomical Dictionary (Italian, English, French, Spanish, German)
• Glossary of African Cuisine
• Glossary of French Cuisine
• Glossary of herbs and spices
• Glossary of Indian Cooking Terms
• Glossary of Terms Common Used in the Food Service Industry
• Illustrated Encyclopedia of Foods
• Italian Cooking Glossary
• Pasta Glossary
• Pearl's Food Lovers' Glossary (a biggy and a goody)
• Southern Food and Cooking Terms
• Spices Encyclopedia
• Vocabulary of Indian Food
• Index of Cooking Glossaries
• See also Chocolate
• See also Food
• See also Multilingual Dictionaries

Craft Dictionary List

AROMATHERAPY & ESSENTIAL OILS Dictionaries


• Oil Profiles

BEADWORK Dictionaries


• Beading Dictionary

BOOKBINDING Dictionaries


• Bookbinding Glossary
• Glossary of Bookbinding Terms
• Glossary of Pertinent Bookbinding Terms

CALLIGRAPHY Dictionaries


• Speedball's Calligraphy Glossary (PDF file)
• Simple Stroke Calligraphy
• Japanese Chinese Calligraphy Dictionary

CANDLEMAKING Dictionaries


• Dictionary of Candlemaking Terms
• Glossary of Candlemaking Terms
• Candle Making Glossary, Terms and Definitions

CERAMICS AND CLAY Dictionaries


• Ceramics Terminology Word List
• Glossary of Ceramics and Clay Terms


• See also Art

GLASSMAKING Dictionaries


• Illustrated Glass Glossary
• Corning Museum of Glass | Glass Dictionary
• Bureau of Land Management Bottle Glossary Page

JEWELRY Dictionaries


• All About Jewels Glossary
• Illustrated Glossary of Jewelry
• More Jewelry Dictionary Resources

LIBRARIANSHIP Dictionaries


• Multilingual Glossary for Art Librarians: English with indexes in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish; also, English entry words and definitions, plus equivalent terms in all aforementioned languages (Be patient - 188-page pdf file that loads slowly

MOSAICS Dictionaries


• Glossary of Mosaics Terms
• Mosaic Art Source mosaic terms glossary

NEEDLECRAFT Dictionaries


• The Stitch Glossary
• Embroidery Glossary
• Machine Embroidery Glossary
• See also Textiles

ORIGAMI Dictionaries


• Origami Glossary
• BOS Academic Origami Glossary
• Robert J Lang Origami Glossary

PAPERCRAFT Dictionaries


• Glossary of Prints and Original Graphics Terms
• Washi (Japanese Handmade Paper) Glossary

QUILTING Dictionaries


• Glossary of Quilting Terms
• Quilting Glossary
• Quiltaholics Glossary
• Quilting Terms

RUBBER STAMPS Dictionaries


• Rubber Stamping Glossary

Criminology Dictionaries

• Criminology Vocabulary
• Forensic Glossary
• Glossary of Police Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Terminology
• Polex International Police Lexicon in 7 Languages

Crossword Dictionary References

• Amo's Online Crossword Puzzle Dictionary
• Crossword Puzzle Dictionary Tips
• Jumble and Crossword Puzzle Solver
• One Across Crossword Puzzle Helper
• Crossword-Dictionary.com

Dance Dictionaries

• American Ballet Theatre's On-line Dictionary
• Ballet Vocabulary
• Glossary of Contemporary Ballet Technique and Usage
• Ballet Glossary
• Tap Dance Dictionary

Dentistry Dictionaries

• A Glossary of Dental and Orthodontic Terms
• Dictionary of Dental Terms
• Dental Dictionary
• See also Science

Dialect Dictionaries

AUSTRALIAN SLANG Dictionaries

• Australian English Glossary from A to Zed
• Aussie Slang Dictionary
• KoalaNet Australian Slang Dictionary
• Hippocrene Dictionary of Australian English (Book)
BRITTISH SLANG Dictionaries

• The Dialect of the West of England (Somersetshire 1869)
• American-British Searchable Glossary
• English-to-American Dictionary (same as above)
• British/American Dictionary
• Canting Glossary (Thieves' Argot of 1736)
• The [Updated] GonMad Dictionary of Cumbrian Slang
• Glossary of the Yorkshire Dialect
• Norse Words in the Yorkshire Dialect
CANADIAN SLANG Dictionaries

• Dictionary of Newfoundland English
INDIAN REGIONAL Dictionaries

• Dictionary of Colloquial Indian-English Terms
IRISH SLANG Dictionaries

• Everyday Slang in Ireland
• General Irish Slang
NEW ZEALAND REGIONAL & SLANG Dictionaries

• Kiwi Words and Phrases (New Zealand Slang)
SCOTTTISH REGIONAL & SLANG Dictionaries

• Dictionary of the Scots Language
• Scottish Vernacular
• A Scots Dictionary
US SLANG Dictionaries

• The Phantom Linguist's Glossary of Quaint Southernisms
• Evolution Publishing - American Dialect Links
• Appalachian Dialect of Eastern Kentucky
• Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1848)
• A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases (Henry Yule 1903)
• A Glossary of Gullah (South Carolina, USA)
• On-line Dictionary of Street Drug Slang
• The Wicked Good Guide to Boston English
• See also Slang

Dinosaur Dictionaries

• Anatomical Dictionary of Dinosaurs
• Children's Dinosaur Dictionary
• The Dinosaur Dictionary
• Dinosaur Glossary
• DOL Dinosaur Omnipedia
• Dinosauria On-Line Dinosaur Omnipedia (Encyclopedia of dinosaur words)
• Plesiosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide

Economics Dictionaries

• Economics A-Z at Economist.com
• Accounting, Business Studies and Economics Dictionary and Glossary
• Dictionary of a New Economics
• A Dictionary of Economic Terms, Concepts, Theories & Theorists
• See also Science

e-Commerce Dictionaries

• Electronic Commerce Dictionary
• BX.com Dictionary of eCommerce
• Ecommerce Dictionary
• Roger Clarke's EC Definitions

Education Dictionaries

• Glossary of the Humanities
• Glossary of Distance Education Terminology
• Dictionary of Terms Used in Special Education
• Learning Glossary
• See also Multilingual Dictionaries

Electronics Dictionaries

• Dictionary of Electronics
• Electronic Glossary at Allwords
• Electronic Warfare Lexicon
• Glossary of Electronics
• International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) Online Database: English, French, German
• Mobile Electronics Glossary
• Technical Dictionary (Electronics)

Elections Dictionaries

• Australian Electoral Commission Glossary of Electoral Terms
• Elections Canada Glossary
• Glossary - US Department of State
• Election Glossary
• Glossary of Election Terms at U.S. Election Assistance Commision
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation Glossary of Election Terms

Energy Dictionaries

• Solar Electric Glossary
• Glossary of Energy Terms
• Glossary of Solar Power Terms
• Glossary for Transport Statistics (PDF file)

Engineering Dictionaries

• English-French-Romanian Civil Building Pathology Dictionary
• Gears Glossary (Be patient - slow-loading pdf file)
• Glossary of Data Acquisition
• Dictionary of Engineering Power Terms

Entomology Dictionaries

• A Glossary of Entomology
• Glossary for Social Insects
• The Social Insects Web
• Dictionary of Entomological Terms
• Coleoptera: Glossary of Entomological Terms
• Gordon's Entomological Glossary

Environmental Dictionaries

• About Glossary of the Environment and Nature
• Agricultural Biotechnology and Environmental Word List
• Chemistry and Environmental Glossary
• Environmental Dictionary
• Environmental Economics Word List
• EPA Glossary of Environmental Terms
• Environmental Health and Safety Monitoring Glossary
• Glossary of Environmental Terms
• The Urban Conservation Glossary (illustrated)
• See also Multilingual Dictionaries

Etymological Dictionaries

Leiden University Indo-European Etymological Dictionaries
• Pokorny's Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch
• Frisk's Griechisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch
• Vasmer's Etimologicheskij slovar russkogo jazyka
• Albanian Inherited Lexicon
• Baltic Inherited Lexicon (in progress)
• Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon (in progress)
• Slavic Inherited Lexicon
• Old Frisian Etymological Database
• A Dictionary of Tocharian B
• Rgvedic Word Concordance
• Bloomfield's Vedic Concordance
• Lycian Lexicon
• A Dictionary of the Iranian Verb
• Cuneiform Luvian lexicon
• Etymological Tables of Various Language Families
• American Heritage List of Proto-Indo-European Roots
• Dictionary of British Surnames
• English Words from Greek-Latin Sources
• The Etymology of First Names
• Latin-Greek Roots Used in English
• Roots of English: an Etymological Dictionary (download)
• See also Multilingual Dictionaries

Film Dictionaries

• IMDb Film Glossary Index
• Kodak Glossary of Video Postproduction Terms
• University of California at Berkeley Library Film Resources
• Academic Information Film Studies Gateway

Finance Dictionaries

• Comprehensive Financial Glossary
• Dictionary of Banking and Monetary Acronyms
• Dictionary of Management and Technology
• An English-Spanish Glossary of Social Security Terminology
• Fannie Mae Glossary of Mortgage Terms
• Federal Reserve Glossaries of Banking and Monetary Policy
• Financial Glossary
• Glossary of Financial Acronyms
• NYT Glossary of Financial and Business Terms (registration is free)
• Glossary of Financial Terms
• Glossary of Terms Used in Payments and Settlement Systems
• International Financial Encyclopaedia
• Investorwords Financial Dictionary
• Money Words
• The Money World A-Z Glossary of Financial Terms (British) \
• Multilingual IMF Monetary Terminology
• SmartMoney Financial Glossary
• The Ultimate Financial Dictionary
• Yahoo Financial Glossary
• See also Multilingual Dictionaries

Fish Dictionaries

• Australian Fish Index
• FDA Seafood List
• Fish and Stream Glossaries
• Fishbase Encyclopedia of Fish and Fish Management
• Fish Glossary from Gorton's
• Fly Fishing Equipment Glossary
• Glossary of Fisheries Terms
• See also Multilingual Dictionaries

Food Industry Dictionaries

• Dictionary of Food Intolerance
• Food Industry Glossary
• Glossary of Herbs
• Glossary of Herbs and Vitamins
• Glossary of Herbs, Vitamins and Minerals
• National Food Safety Database
• Nutrition Glossary

Forestry Dictionaries

• Glossary of Forest Protection
• NILS Survey and Land Glossary
• Silvicultural Terms in Canada
• Glossary of Forestry Terms
• Glossary of Forestry Terms in British Columbia

Furniture Dictionaries

• House Beautiful Furniture Glossary
• Glossary of Furniture
• Dictionary of Furniture Terms
• See also Architecture

Gambling Dictionaries

• Gambling Glossaries
• Gambling Glossary
• Glossary of Gambling
• Gambling Terms
• Glossary of Gambling Terms
• Glossary of Gambling Terms

Games Dictionaries

• Backgammon Glossary
• A Glossary of Poker Terms
• Poker Glossary (about 480 terms)
• Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary

Genealogy Dictionaries

• Ancestry's Concise Genealogical Dictionary (subscription)
• Ancestry's Beginner's Genealogical Glossary
• Danish-English Genealogy Dictionary
• Dictionary of Ancient Healing
• Glossary of Archaic Medical Terms, Diseases and Causes of Death
• FamilySearch Multilingual Genealogy Glossary • Homesite
  (Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Latin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish)
• Genealogy Dictionary
• Glossary of Genealogical Terms and Abbreviations
• Kinship Dictionary
• Nova Scotia Genealogy Glossary (Back again!)
• ROOTS-L Resources: Genealogical Terms and Definitions

Geography Dictionaries

• Association for Geographical Information GIS Dictionary
• Dictionary of Geographic Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Economic Geography Glossary
• Glossary of Coastal Terms

Geology Dictionaries

• Geologic Glossary by Geologylink
• GeoMan's Glossary of Earth Science Terms
• InfoMine Dictionary of Mining, Mineral and Related Terms
• List of Chemical Composition of Minerals
• Minerals: A List of Chemical Composition
• Soil Science Glossary
• U.S. Geological Survey Glossary
• Volcanic and Geologic Terms


• See also Meteorology

Golf Dictionaries

• PGA Glossary of Golf Terms and Phrases
• Golf Europe Glossary of Golf Terms
• Golfselect Glossary of Golf Terms
• Worldgolf Golfer's Glossary
• Think Golf - Golf Glossary

Grammar and Stylistic Dictionaries

• Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
• Carnegie Mellon Writer's Style Guide
• English Grammar Usage Tip Resources
• Guide to Grammar and Style
• Common Errors in English
• English Style Guide
• Introduction to Legal Citations
• Punctuation Made Simple
• Sharp Points
• Silva Rhetoricae
• Strunk's Elements of Style
• Writer's Guide
• Writing for the Web
• Writing on the Internet