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Literature & Language (lĭt'ər-ə-chʊr' ənd lăng'gwĭj)

Written works of an imaginative, journalistic or scholarly nature; a system of spoken and written symbols by means of which people can communicate with each other. Esperanto, anyone?
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Literature & Language
Abbreviations:
Definitions of acronyms and symbols
Examples: WYSIWYG , BQE , CAPTCHA , more »
African American Literature:
The writers, characters and critics of African American literature, and plot summaries of major works
Examples: Their Eyes Were Watching God , Frederick Douglass , Brer Rabbit , more »
American Authors:
Biographies of famous authors
Examples: Owen Davis , Zoe Akins , Theodore Sedgwick Fay , more »
American Family Name Origins:
Explanations of the last names of 90% of the US population
Examples: Bush , Smith , Revere , more »
American Literature Chronology:
Development of US literature throughout the years
Examples: 1645 , 1952 , more »
American Word Origins:
Word origins of American words
Examples: indian summer , grapevine , affirmative action , more »
Antonyms:
Dictionary of antonyms
Examples: oblivion , malevolent , daydream , more »
Children's Authors:
The lives and works of authors and illustrators of books for children
Examples: Loren Long , Kaye Umansky , Charles de Lint , more »
Classical Literature Companion:
The classical world and its literature, revealed through the lives of its writers and plot summaries of their major works
Examples: epigram , epic , Argonauts , more »
Common Misspellings:
Commonly misspelled words
Examples: miscellaneous , acquaintance , weird , more »
Devil's Dictionary:
Quaint dictionary by Ambrose Bierce
Examples: passport , love , future , more »
Dictionary:
General word definitions, with audible pronunciations
Examples: bell lap , zyzzyva , lazaretto , more »
Dictionary - Abbr.:
List of abbreviations and some acronyms and their definitions
Examples: PG-13 , PhB , .il , more »
English Folklore:
Folklore, superstitions, customs and legendary characters
Examples: English Folk Dance and Song Society , knives , alien big cats , more »
Fairy Tale Companion:
The stories, characters and writers of this complex and captivating genre
Examples: The Brothers Grimm , Ali Baba , Hans Christian Andersen , more »
First Name Origins:
First names and their origins
Examples: Abigail , Icarus , D'Artagnan , more »
French Literature Companion:
Ten centuries of French-language literature
Examples: Versification , Jean-Paul Sartre , Criticism , more »
German Literature Companion:
1,200 years of German-language literature placed in historical and cultural context
Examples: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy , Die Leiden des jungen Werthers , Leipzig , more »
Grammar Dictionary:
Terms and concepts in English grammar
Examples: satire , iambic pentameter , conjunction , more »
Idioms:
English phrases and forms of expression
Examples: tell it to the Marines , go to the wall , the whole nine yards , more »
International Word Origins:
Word origins of words used internationally
Examples: taboo , guru , bizarre , more »
Irish Literature Companion:
Sixteen centuries of the literature and literary culture of Ireland
Examples: Waiting for Godot , ballads in Ireland , The Abbey Theatre , more »
Latin Phrases:
Explanations of popular Latin phrases
Examples: populus vult decipi, decipiatur , hoi polloi , sui generis , more »
Literary Dictionary:
Explanations of literary terms from the traditional to the cutting-edge
Examples: discourse , palindrome , existentialism , more »
Literary Glossary:
Brief explanations of terms related to literature, drama and poetry
Examples: Prologue , Celtic Renaissance , Age of Johnson , more »
New Words:
Listing of modern words
Examples: bait car , advertecture , shoulder surfing , more »
Notes on Drama:
Study guides to help students better understand and enjoy the plays they read in school
Examples: On Golden Pond , Romeo and Juliet , An Ideal Husband , more »
Notes on Novels:
Study guides to help students better understand and enjoy the novels they read in school
Examples: Crime and Punishment , The Color Purple , Animal Farm , more »
Notes on Poetry:
Study guides to help students better understand and enjoy the poems they read in school
Examples: Practice , Ithaka , If , more »
Notes on Short Stories:
Study guides to help students better understand and enjoy the short fiction they read in school
Examples: Mowgli's Brothers , The Arabian Nights , A Point at Issue! , more »
Obscure Words:
Words that have fallen out of common usage
Examples: prothalamion , orrery , abdabs , more »
Phrases:
Meanings and origins of familiar phrases in English
Examples: rule of thumb , hoist by your own petard , a bed of roses , more »
Poetry:
List of poems and terms associated with them
Examples: Mending Wall , Casey at the Bat , more »
Poetry Glossary:
Glossary of poetry terms
Examples: Ballade , Allegory , Synesthetic Metaphor , more »
Quotes About:
Quotes from QuotationsBook.com
Examples: sacrifice , encouragement , Men and Women , more »
Quotes By:
Quotes from QuotationsBook.com
Examples: Mark Twain , Mohandas Gandhi , Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , more »
Science Fiction Dictionary:
The development of science-fiction words and their associated concepts
Examples: actifan , multiverse , super-scientist , more »
Sign Language:
Video and explanation of how to sign each word
Examples: doughnut , ponder , yes , more »
Spelling & Usage:
Word tutoring from eSpindle
Examples: ubiquitous , misoneism , fortuitous , more »
Study Guide:
SparkNotes online learning guides to literature
Examples: Cloud 9 , Dante's Inferno , A Christmas Carol , more »
Thesaurus:
Synonyms, including related and contrasting words
Examples: sempiternal , poltroon , exotic , more »
Translations:
Words translated from English into 16 languages, including: Danish, Korean, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish.
Examples: peace , hello , translucent , more »
Webster 1913:
Webster 1913 dictionary edited by Patrick J. Cassidy
Examples: naik , Kalmia , behither , more »
Wikisource:
User driven collection of source texts
Examples: United States Bill of Rights , Paradise Lost , Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , more »
Word Overheard:
Interesting words found on the internet
Examples: morganatic , obstreperous , efflorescence , more »
WordNet:
A semantic lexicon of word connections and related words
Examples: zoftig , Emile Gaboriau , a-okay , more »
Wordsmith Words:
A.Word.A.Day, by Anu Garg, www.wordsmith.org
Examples: exonumia , selcouth , mercer , more »
Works by Authors:
Literature works listed by authors
Examples: Benjamin Franklin , Mark Twain , more »


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From our WikiAnswers community:
WikiAnswers - Literature & Language (answered questions)