A course In Modern English Lexicology

The General Service List by M. West:
arrive, v 532 (1) Arrive home, in London
Arrive at an age when ... 74%
(2) The parcel has arrived
The time has arrived when... 11%
(3) Arrive at a conclusion... 12%
(The count is to be read as follows: In a count of 5 million running words the word arrive occurred 532 times. In 74% of these occurrences it had the first meaning, in 11% — the second, etc.).
Oxford Etymological Dictionary:
arrive [arэiv] + bring or come to shore, land XIII; come to the end of a journey, a goal, etc. XIV; + reach (a port, etc.) XVI; + come to pass XVII. — OF. ariver (mod. arriver arive, happen) = Pr. aribar, Sp.
arribar: — Rom. *arripare come to land, f. ad AR+ripo shore (cf.
RIVER). Formerly sometimes inflected+ arove, +ariven; cf.
STRIVE.
Jones’ Dictionary:
arriv/e, -s, -ing, -ed; -al/s э'raiv, -z, iŋ, -d, -эl/z arro-gan/ce, -cy, -t/ly ‘ærэgen/s [-roug-, -rug-], -si, -t/li 224
ascertain, -s, -ing, -ed, -ment; -able æsэ'tein [-sэ:'t-], -z, -iŋ, -d, -mэnt; -
эbl
Sometimes the entries for the same word will look quite different in dictionaries of the same type. Thus the setting of the entry varies in different books of synonyms depending upon the practical needs of the intended users. Some word-books enumerate synonyms to each meaning of the head-word to help the user recall words close in meaning that may have been forgotten. Other word-books provide discriminating synonymies, i.e. they explain the difference in semantic structure, use and style, and show how each synonym is related to, yet differs from all the others in the same group.
Compare:
Admission, n. 1. Admittance, introduction, access, entrance, initiation, entrée. 2. Allowance, avowal, concession, acknowledgement, assent, acceptance.
’
(Soule R. A Dictionary of English Synonyms and Synonymous Expressions.)
ADMISSION, ADMITTANCE
ADMISSION, for being allowed to enter (usually a place), is the commonly used word, and it has today almost entirely dis-placed ADMITTANCE, which is now restricted to a few idiomatic uses, e.g. “No admittance except on business".
(Collins V. H. The Choice of Words. A Book of Synonyms with Explanations)
When the selection of the dictionary entries, the
§ 13. Structure of the Dictionary contents and structure of the entries, their order of arrangement etc. are decided upon, the lexicographer is to settle upon this or that structure of the dictionary.
In spite of the great variety of linguistic dictionaries their composition has many features in common. Nearly all of them may be roughly divided into three unequal parts.
Apart from the dictionary proper, that make up the bulk of the wordbook, every reference book contains some separate sections which are to help the user in handling it — an Introduction and Guide to the use’ of the dictionary. This prefatory matter usually explains all the peculiarities of the word-book, it also contains a key to pronunciation, the list of abbreviations used and the like.
It is very important that the user of a dictionary should read this prefatory matter for this will enable him to know what is to be found in the word-book and what is not, will help him locate words quickly and easily, and derive the full amount of information the dictionary affords.
Appended to the dictionary proper there is some supplementary material valuable for language learners and language teachers. This material may be divided into one of linguistic nature, pertaining to vocabulary, its development and use, and the other pertaining to matters distinctly encyclopaedic. In explanatory dictionaries the appendixes 225
of the first kind usually include addenda or/and various word-lists: geographical names, foreign words and expressions, forenames, etc., record new meanings of words already entered and words that have come into existence since the compilation of the word-book. The educational material may include a list of colleges and universities, special signs and symbols used in various branches of science, tables of weights and measures, etc.
In translation dictionaries supplementary material is in some respects different from that in explanatory dictionaries, e.g. the Russian-English dictionary referred to above does not only include a list of geographical names, standard abbreviations pertaining to the public, political, economic and industrial life, but also contains the rules of English and Russian pronunciation as well as brief outlines of English and Russian grammar.
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