Xref: utzoo misc.wanted:12249 comp.sources.wanted:14229 alt.sources.wanted:696 Newsgroups: misc.wanted,comp.sources.wanted,alt.sources.wanted Path: utzoo!sq!lee From: lee@sq.sq.com (Liam R. E. Quin) Subject: Re: Spelling checker file wanted Message-ID: <1990Nov26.225228.153@sq.sq.com> Organization: SoftQuad Inc. References: <1990Nov21.215111.8311@sq.sq.com> <731@isgtec.UUCP> Date: Mon, 26 Nov 90 22:52:28 GMT Lines: 45 robert@isgtec.UUCP (Robert Osborne) sez: >lee@sq.sq.com (Liam R. E. Quin) writes: >[about a spell checker with all of websters being "great"] >> Actually you'll have a dreadful one. Almost every possible typing error >> will be listed as an obscure word, an thou so do. [...] > But if you broke the dictionary into several lists (hopefully not too > costly in terms of lookups) you could give messages like: > > alsdkjf: not in dictionary > : *VERY OBSCURE* only in The OED > : *OBSCURE* in The OED and Webster's > : *UNCOMMON* not in Standard Dictionary Well, I do have the Shorter Oxford word list, which lists parts-of-speech, "rare", "obsolete", etc., so I have a shellscript: sqlee!lee> sodfind thine thine Archaic Adjective (Shorter Oxford) thine Standard Pronoun (Shorter Oxford) thine Archaic Adjective (Webster's) thine Standard Pronoun (Webster's) thine Standard Other (Webster's) thine Archaic Adjective (Merged) thine Standard Pronoun (Merged) thine Standard Other (Merged) qlee!lee> sodfind disally disally Rare Verb (Shorter Oxford) disally Archaic Verb (Webster's) (my 1837 Johnson's Dictionary lists this `disally' as a word used by Milton, but thse days it's a typo for `dismally'!) I have sometimes thought about using this for a spell-checker, but I seem to be a little busy :-( Lee [PS: Johnson also lists ``Ascii'' as a word.... Other lovers of antiquarian books might like to run to their First Folios of Johnson or Bailey and look it up.... ] -- Liam R. E. Quin, lee@sq.com, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, +1 (416) 963-8337