wweb.gifIn the recent blog article on the updated Kindle for PC app, I wrote that there was no in-line dictionary yet like the one on the Kindle itself, with the summary definition at the bottom of the Kindle screen for the word your cursor might be on and the ability to get the full definition and etymology via the American Oxford Dictionary. I missed that.

Jerry wrote in the comments area:

“For a dictionary on Kindle for PC, I would strongly recommend installing WordWeb (http://wordweb.info/). It has hotkey functionality which allows you to look up any word instantly, from inside any Windows application. It works great with the Kindle for PC. (I am not affiliated with the product.)”

So I tried it out, as I’ve enjoyed WordWeb in the past. The free version of this memory-resident program takes up very little memory and processing power and works with everything I’ve tried, whether just browsing or writing this entry in an editing box. The default ‘hot-key’ is ctrl-alt-w or the more intuitive Ctrl-right-click. However, I changed it, in the Options menu, to Ctrl-left-click, which is just more natural for me. The definition box comes up in an instant and, while it doesn’t provide etymology of a word as the Kindle’s does, it gives a decent amount of information.
As their website says, “…each set of synonyms is linked to other related sets. Look up “tree”, click on the “Types” tab and you’ll have a list of different types of tree. Click on “Part of” and WordWeb will tell you that a tree can be part of a “forest” or “wood”.

The free version is fully functional and can be used freely beyond 30 days under one, unusual, condition. They ask that the user take no more than two commercial flights (not more than one return flight) in any 12 month period, to help cut down on global greenhouse gas emissions. You can read their full expanation of that here. For frequent travelers, they ask that people buy the ‘Pro’ version instead.

A comparison between the free version and the Pro 6 edition ($19).

FREE VERSION
The comprehensive English thesaurus and dictionary includes:
Definitions and synonyms
Proper nouns
Related words
5000 audio pronunciations
150 000 root words
220 000 word senses
Fixed web reference tabs

WORDWEB PRO 6
In addition to all the free version features, the full Pro version includes 5000 more definitions and numerous extra features including:
70 000 audio pronunciations
Custom web references
Custom glossaries
Optional third-party dictionaries
Wildcard word search
Full text definition search
Find and solve anagrams
Search optional word lists

Personally, I’m happy with the Free version.

Here’s their FAQ.

Optional dictionaries include the New American Oxford Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionary of English, and if you’re ordering any extras, then you need to click on the “show all link in the line about optional dictionaries. I find the ordering page and pricing for the pro version and assorted extras a bit confusing.

Again, I’m fine with the free version, which I already find amazing for a free program. Thanks to Jerry for the tip!

Editor’s Note: the above is taken, with permission, from Andrys Basten’s A Kindle World blog. PB

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