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Near East Section

Arabic Reference Works

Dictionaries

Wehr, Hans, 1909-
A dictionary of modern Arabic / Hans Wehr ; edited by J. Milton Cowan. 3rd ed. Weisbaden : Harrassowitz, 1979
Suzzallo Reference stacks
PJ6640.W43 1979
This is the standard dictionary for modern Arabic. Other editions are available in OUGL and Suzzallo stacks.

Lane, Edward William, 1801-1876
An Arabic-English lexicon derived from the best and the most copious eastern sources. In two books: the first containing all the classical words and significations commonly known to the learned among the Arabs; the second, those that are of rare occurence and not commonly known. Book I. London and Edinburgh, Williams and Norgate, 1863-93. 8v. in 4 ; 35 cm.
Suzzallo Reference stacks, Suzzallo stacks
PJ6640.L3 1863e
The standard dictionary for the classical period. Lane died around Qaf, after which the number of entries substantially declines. Remeber ther is an additional section of entries at the end of the last volume.

Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne, 1820-1883
Supplement aux dictionnaires arabes, par R. Dozy. Beyrouth, Librairie Liban, 1968
Suzzallo stacks
PJ6645.F6 D6 1968
Intended to be a supplement to Lane. It is Arabic-French.

Hava, J.G.
al-Faraid al-durriyah fi al-lughatayn al-Arabiyah wa-al-Inkiliziyah Arabic-English dictionary. 3rd Ed. Beirut, Catholic Press [1970]
OUGL
PJ6640.H3 1970
This is a good dictionary for words not found in Wehr or Lane. There are other editions in the libraries - check under Hava, J.G.

Hinds, Martin
A dictionary of Egyptian Arabic : Arabic-English / Martin Hinds ; El-Said Badawi. Beirut : Librairie du Liban, c1986
Suzzallo Reference stacks
PJ6795.H56 1986
This is a major colloquial dictionary. Colloquial may appear in modern fiction.

Steingass, Francis Joseph, 1825-1903
The student's Arabic-English dictionary : Companion volume to the author's English-Arabic dictionary / by F. Steingass. London : W.H. Allen, 1884. xvi, 1242 p. ; 23 cm
Suzzallo stacks
PJ6640.S8
Entries are arranged in alphabetical order instead of by root. This dictionary is helpful for hard to find words.

For unusual words in classical works, also consult in the Persian section:
Steingass, Francis Joseph, 1825-1903
A comprehensive Persian-English dictionary : including the Arabic words and phrases to be met with in Persian literature.

Worterbuch der klassischen arabischen Sprache / unter Mitwirkung der Akademien der Wissenschaften in Gottingen, Heidelberg und Munchen und der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz herausgegeben durch die Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesellschaft ; begrundet von Jorg Kraemer und Helmut Gatje ; in Verbindung mit Anton Spitaler bearbeitet von Manfred Ullmann.
Wiesbaden : Otto Harrassowitz, 1970-
Authors of Arabic dictionaries have frequently died when writing the entries for the letter Qaf. To make up for that problem, this dictionary begins with the letter Qaf. Although it is in German, it does include short definitions in English.

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Last modified: Monday March 27, 2006