Online and embedded dictionaries fail to deliver the same features as their printed predecessors. They’re brilliant at quickly providing a definition, but that’s all they do.
- Online dictionaries are those which can be found on the web, such as at www.dictionary.com and www.oxforddictionaries.com.
- Embedded dictionaries are those embedded into eBook readers such as the Kindle and Kobo.
In defining the original requirements for these dictionaries, it seems likely that only those features directly relating to the specific application were implemented (ie providing a definition for a selected word). Printed dictionaries do more than that though:
- Printed dictionaries provide definitions of alphabetically adjacent words.
- Printed dictionaries lend themselves to browsing.
- Printed dictionaries reinforce the alphabet sequence.
Where online and embedded dictionaries clearly succeed is with their near-instant response times which cannot be matched by their printed versions. Their portability cannot be ignored either. Other enhancing features such as example uses and integration with online thesauri suggest that these dictionaries are here to stay.
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