Table Of Content

TLOENGXAIN CON |OF CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH | Tom McArthur | |P ronunciation table | CONSONANTS VOWELS SYMBOL KEY WORD SYMBOL KEY WORD back bad day AmE farm then calm jump BrE pot [oy few bite gay now hot tire yet tower key AmE form led caught sum boy sun employer sung bed pen there red make -soon player fishing about note tea lower cheer thing AmE bird view bird pretty wet zero sheep eBeoEGC=elOoaJCatnRro ’Eo t o O o e pl easure ship here AmE port Special signs boot separates British and American pro- put nunciations: British on the left, American on the right poor shows main STRESS cut shows SECONDARY STRESS shows STRESS SHIFT at the end of a word means that /r/ is usually pronounced in American English and is pronounced in British English when the next word begins with a vowel sound /3! means that some speakers use /1/ and others use /a/ /i/ means many American speakers use /i:/ but many British speakers use /1/ al means that /9/ may or may not be used /o/ means that American speakers use either /9/ or /au/ /a/ /a, 9, 3/ are used for American [| English to represent /a:, 9:, 3:/ [al For further information see the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, pp.xvii-xxii “KOWa CREAN Sis ory Short forms used in the Lexicon 2 Prugust | abbreyv abbreviation infin infinitive adj adjective infml informal adv adverb inter] interjection affec affectionate IrE English used in AmE American Ireland English It Italian & and Lat Latin apprec appreciative lit literary attrib attributive math mathematical BrE British med medical English N North cap capital n noun comb combination naut nautical comb combining neg negative form form not fml not formal compar comparative participle conj conjunction pass passive def definition pers person deprec depreciative phr phrase derog very plural depreciative poet poetic det determiner pomp pompous E East poss possessive emot emotive or prep preposition emotional pres present emph emphatic pron pronoun EngE English used in refl reflexive England South esp especially ScotE English used in etc et cetera; Scotland and so on sing singular euph euphemistic sl slang fem feminine Sp Spanish Sig figurative superl superlative Sml formal t tense Pr French tdmk trademark genl general tech technical geom geometry United States Ger German usually humor humorous verb imper imperative West See also Grammar table inside back cover. " ordi : AY, alia “3 f rae aes Chae 9 at a) Oe: - Fewetry Lesa Henge: oy eee bees hates, < ee )s seg 4 eS oe GAR : pear geegys - LONGMAN LEXICON OF CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH Tom McArthur Longman Group UK Limited Longman House, Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE, England and Associated Companies throughout the world. © Longman Group Limited 1981 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers. First published by Longman Group Limited 1981 Ninth impression 1988 ISBN 0-582-S555e7—2 Produced by Longman Singapore Publishers Pte Ltd Printed in Singapore. Acknowledgments Over the eight years of its gestation, the Lexicon has been informed by the advice and talent of many. In the early days, when nobody was sure what such a book would be like, I received invaluable encouragement, advice, and critical help from Professor David Abercrombie, Louis Alexander, Professor David Crystal, Professor Randolph Quirk, and D. K. Swan. From start to finish, sympathetic management in the Longman organization itself was essential, and this was amply provided by Tim Rix, Charles McGregor, and Della Summers. The Lexicon was put together in two corners of Great Britain: Longniddry in Scotland, and Harlow in England. It survived the experience, and this was due in great part to Paul Procter of the Longman Lexicographic Unit and editor-in-chief of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, with whom it was always a pleasure to work. In addition, I owe much to a whole phalanx of definers, especially Jean Robinson; the Longman clerical staff, especially Joyce Nairn; and, of course, to the illustrators, Tony Baskeyfield, Richard Bonson, Malcolm Booker, Brian Lee, Hugh Marshall, Julia Rout, and Clive Spong. In Longniddry, Feri McArthur built up the Index and managed the flow of material to and from Harlow, sharing the weight of compilation while there was also a family to bring up. To her, as always, my unbounded affection and admiration. Valerie Sinclair and Ana-Maria Ballesteros also have my grateful thanks for the typing of a never-ending manuscript. Inevitably, in a project of this nature, an enormous amount of editorial work had to be done. It fell to James Coakley, Janet Dalley, Robert Scriven, and Adrian Stenton. The final high standard of production is in great part a tribute to their patience and skill. Contents page Pronunciation Table inside front cover Short forms used in the Lexicon Acknowledgments iv Preface vi List of Sets vii Howto use the Lexicon xii Guide to the Lexicon xiv THE LEXICON A Lifeand Living Things 1 B The Body; its Functions andWelfare 39 C People andthe Family 79 D Buildings, Houses, the Home, Clothes, Belongings, and Personal Care 169 E Food, Drink, and Farming 213 F Feelings, Emotions, Attitudes,andSensations 237 G Thought and Communication, Language and Grammar 297 H Substances, Materials, Objects, and Equipment 381 I Arts and Crafts, Science and Technology, Industry and Education 429 J Numbers, Measurement, Money, and Commerce 457 K Entertainment, Sports, and Games 505 L Spaceand Time 545 M _ Movement, Location, Travel, and Transport - 603 N General and Abstract Terms 679 The Index +e 785, Grammar Table & Sl 912 Preface Lexicography has traditionally used the alphabet as its principal means of organizing information about words. Indeed, most of us think about wordbooks as ‘dictionaries’, and dictionaries as, necessarily, having an alphabetical order. There has, however, been an alternative tradition, in which compilers have used groups of topics instead of the alphabet as their basis for organization. The alphabet, with allits virtues, places animals and zoos, uncles and aunts far apart in its scheme of things, whereas in the human mind such words go close together. The alphabetical dictionary has a logic, but it is not the logic of everyday life. In principle, one feels, words should be defined in the company they usually keep. Two famous moves in this direction have been the Janua Linguarum Reserata in 1631, the work of the Bohemian educator Comenius, and Roget’s Thesaurus, first published by Longman in 1852. The Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English belongs in this tradition. Comenius had a hundred chapters and a religious bias, while Roget used a scheme of universal concepts as a framework for his prodigious lists. The Lexicon, however, has only fourteen ‘semantic fields’ of a pragmatic, everyday nature, a simple system of letters and numbers for easy reference, and an index that helps make reference easier still. Its special feature as a reference tool for students of English is its detailed definitions. Synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms, and other related words are presented in linguistically appropriate ways without, however, demanding that the user be familiar with linguistic terminology. The definitions are, additionally, supplemented with style labels and examples of usage, tabular and pictorial material being added where needed. We believe that no previous wordbook has ever provided such acompact description of the central vocabulary of the English language. The Lexicon is not intended to be exhaustive. It describes some 15,000 items in, we believe, a clear and useful way. Within the limits necessary for a work of this size, it provides the core language for arange of topics as varied as grammar and war, travel and tools, mathematics, sport, laughter, life, and love. ae a oa Tom McArthur August 1980 vi List of Sets Set titles are shown in bold type, with major cross-references listed underneath A_ Life and Living Things A1 Life and Living Things A90_ Reptiles and Amphibians C1 People C20 Courting, Sex, and Marriage A100 Fish and Other Water C50 ~=—D eath and Burial 174 The Life Sciences Creatures L200 Old, New, and Young L86 Areas of Water N1 Being, Becoming, and E31 + Meat Happening M19 Moving A30__— Living Creatures Generally A110 Insects and Similar B1 The Body Generally Creatures us Food, Drink, and Farming A50 Animals/Mammals A120 Parts of Animals C1 People E34 Cuts of Meat E31 Meat A130 Kinds and Parts of Plants A70_ ‘Birds E30 Food ME3119 = MMoenvti ng A150 Plants Generally B The Body: its Functions and Welfare B1 The Body Generally B60 Fluids and Waste Products ee ote Spirits, and Ghosts of the Body (00 H1 Substances and Materials #0 Plambing avdF ines ila enerally G1 _- Mind, Thought, and Reason H13 Rubbish and Waste — a B10 The Body: Overall B80 Bodily States and ‘A120. Parts of Animals Associated Activities A130 Kinds and Parts of Plants FA nea ane Behaviour enerally B20 The Head and the Face F260 Senses and Sensations F240 Acttioo nFse eloifn tghse Face Related B110 Bodily Conditions Relating to G1‘ Thinking, Judging, and Health, Sickness, and pops peli Disability B30 The Trunk, Arms, and Legs F260 Senses and Sensations E30 Food B140 Diseases and Ailments B50 _= The Skin, the Complexion, E80 Cigarettes and Drugs pi ent aie B160 Medicine and General farts of Animals D170 Cleaning and Personal Care Medical Care L20 —_ Light and Colour 1170 Science and Technology C People and the Family C1 People C40 _= —sF riendship and Enmity Al Life and Living Things C270 Pail f War, and Peace A50.~—- Animals/Mammals F140 Admiration, Pride, Contempt, C212 Inheriting and Bequeathing and Abuse D60 Residence F170 Kindness and Unkindness D130 Clothes and Personal F190 Honesty, Loyalty, Trickery, Belongings and Deceit C20 Courting, Sex, and Marriage C50 _ Death and Burial Al Life and Living Things Al Life and Living Things vii c70 Social Organization in Services, Crime, and Groups and Places Criminals | L80.—- Geography Fi90 Honesty, Loyalty, Trickery, © and Decelt |; c90 Government C250 Prison and Punishment | Ni65 Controlling Things M35 ac a c1i10 Politics and Elections N359 Seeking and Searching c270 Warfare, Defence, and the c130 Political Tension and Trouble Army F100. = Anger, Violence, Stress, Im, and Quietness Fighting, War, and Peace c150 Social Classifications and Al Life and Death C40 _—s—F riendship and Enmity Situations N387 Hurting and Harming Ni94_ Sorting and Classifying c2s80 The Armed Forces cis0 Law and Order Generally v4 * Castles be Parts of Castle: N224 Fairness and Justice MoO venice and Transport on c200 Courts of Law and Legal M150 Shipping Work M180 Aircraft N210_ Rightness, Faimess, C320 Religion and Beliefs rpose, Use, and Strength Gi Thinking, Judging, and ring c220 The Police, Security Gi4 __ Believing and Accepting D Buildings, Houses, the Home, Clothes, Belongings, and Personal Care Architecture and Kinds of J80 Money Houses and Buildings J100 Banking, Wealth, and investment E120 Places and People J130 Commerce Associated with Food J180 Shoppanid Gnengera l | and Drink Expenses N120 Doing Things | D110 Seren and Household SMceiaesnucree maenndt Technology Fittings :| H135 Refrigeranadt Froeerzesrs |: H140 Tools | bD20 Parts of Houses Dis3O 134. Parts of Doors bDSO Areas Around and Near Houses H&85 Cloth and Textiles E132 Fields and Orchards nN Making Things L80 Geography D170 Cleaning and Personal Care Residence Bi The B50 TheS kint heC omplexion, , Ci People and the Hai Belonging and Owning, B60 Fluidsa ndW aste Products. Getting and Giving H64 ~—sCaOnDd iGirrimte E Food, Drink, and Farming ; Ei Food Generally A130 Kinds and Parts ofP lants - A150 Plants in pon E30 Food J192 Selling Food ASO Animals/Mammals A7O0 E60 Drinks A100 Fieh andO ther (Water), Creatures Ai20 Parts of Animals Eso Cigarettes and Drugs viii