Vocabulary Sites

As everyone knows, the most sensible way to improve one's reading vocabulary is to read widely. College instructors may recommend that students read every day for pleasure for at least one hour. However, playing word games is another excellent way to become interested in language and to improve one's vocabulary. The following Web sites represent a varied collection of material pertaining to words and new ways to enjoy them.

Vocabulary Subscription Services

The two subscription services described here provide relatively high level vocabulary words that are perfect for college students.

The Web site sponsored by Merriam-Webster, the dictionary publisher, includes an on-line dictionary and thesaurus, word games, word puzzles, and a word-of-the-day subscription service, which sends you a new vocabulary word seven days a week via e-mail. The service is free, although the site does run banner ads.

Another excellent free subscription service, www.parlez.com, also sends you a new word a day, five days a week. Also included are a pronunciation key, etymology, part of speech, and one or two passages showing the word in context. Once in a while, you'll have to put up with a pitch for a vocabulary program to order, but to make up for it, the site occasionally includes a cool link pertaining to a word, an author quoted, or some other bit of information related to that day's word. I highly recommend this site.

Richard Lederer's Verbivore Page

A herbivore loves to eat plants. A verbivore loves to play with words. An English teacher for over 40 years and writer of several books on language, Lederer is an inveterate punster. His site is filled with wonderful games, quizzes, and other miscellany concerning words.

Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies

This last site is mostly devoted to food Web sites, but scroll down to the bottom and click on "Word Links" for links to sites about language.

The following three sites were recommended in the May 1999 issue of Yahoo! Internet Life. (147) The first, Word Wizard, offers, among other features, etymology information, discussion forums about the meanings of words, and a list of classic insults if you want to send a "scathing parting shot" to your boss when you get fired.

Wilton's Etymology Page explains how popular expressions like "it's raining cats and dogs" found their way into the language. The site offers stories, sometimes conflicting ones, about the origin of slang phrases. According to Yahoo! Internet Life, Wilton's site "provides the most comprehensive history of the "f-word" we've ever read."

Another related site is The Word Detective, an online version of Evan Morris's newspaper column. According to Yahoo!, "Morris traces the roots of everything from acme to yuletide with great historical detail." (147)