Reference - English - Fort Wayne - Ivy Tech Libraries at Ivy Tech Community College

English Reference

Some of the resources you need in English class come from reference sources like the ones below. These include dictionaries, thesauruses, quotation databases, and more. Please use the lists below to find the best resources for your needs.

Databases

Some of these resources are from the following Library Databases. Resources from these databases may require you to sign into your Ivy Tech student account before you are able to access them.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
More than 1,200 reference works providing background information for topics ranging from agriculture to technology. Search within multiple sources using keywords, or browse topics in different subjects. Recommended for introductory research in all topics.
EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window
Portal to all EBSCO databases including Academic Search Complete, Health Source Nursing/Academic Edition, and more; select as appropriate from this entry page.

Dictionaries, Thesauruses, and Origins

Web-based Dictionaries

Many of these dictionaries also provide thesauruses.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary
The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary is a unique, regularly updated, online-only reference. Although originally based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, the Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary has since been significantly updated and expanded with new entries and revised definitions. In cases where discrepancies occur between the print Collegiate® Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, the Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary typically provides the most up-to-date information.
Oxford Dictionaries
Oxford Dictionaries focuses on current language and practical usage. The English site provides free access to the largest current English dictionaries and thesaurus as well as helpful tips on grammar, usage, spelling, and more.
Cambridge Dictionary
Cambridge University Press has been publishing dictionaries for learners of English since 1995. Cambridge Dictionaries Online began offering these dictionaries completely free of charge in 1999 — and today, Cambridge Dictionary is still growing. Also provides translation and grammar services.
Dictionary.com
Provides English definitions, spellings, audio pronunciations, example sentences, and word origins. Dictionary.com’s main source is the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, which is continually updated and supplemented with other sources including American Heritage and Harper Collins to support a range of language needs.

EBooks

Collins English Dictionary by Mark Forsyth
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2015
Drawn from the Collins Corpus, the largest in the world with more than 4.5 billion words, and combined with a selection of emerging words submitted by the public on collinsdictionary.com, the Collins English Dictionary is a snapshot of real English as it is spoken today around the world.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2012
Features clear and precise definitions, usage examples, and phrases and idioms.
The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language by Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2016
This new edition offers newly updated terms, and provides the latest research on word origins and meanings, with guidelines on accurate usage.
The Penguin English Dictionary by R. E. Allen
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2003
Clear, detailed definitions, with particular emphasis on difficult concepts and meanings. Includes not only standard English, but also scientific and technical vocabulary, specialist terms, slang, and the English of earlier periods.
The Chambers Dictionary by C.M. Schwarz
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2015
Immerse yourself in the most interesting, authoritative and helpful English dictionary available -- the unrivalled guide for word lovers. Whether youre an avid wordgamer or just enjoy revelling in the quirks and curiosities of the English language, The Chambers Dictionary is your ultimate companion.
Word Origins: The Hidden Histories of English Words from A to Z by John Ayto
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2005
The purpose of this book is to uncover the often surprising connections between elements of the English lexicon that have become obscured by centuries of language change - the links in our word-web that join such unlikely partners as, for instance, beef and cow, bacteria and imbecile, and bishop and spy.
Word Histories and Mysteries
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2004
Provides a panoramic view of the unique richness of English, uncovering the origins of five hundred everyday words whose surprising and often amusing stories offer insights into the history of humankind.

Quotations, Phrases, and Sayings

Online Sources

Bartleby Quotations
An online catalog of quotations from a variety of sources which can be searched or browsed.

EBooks from CREDO Reference

Bloomsbury Thematic Dictionary of Quotations by Fran Alexander , Anne Stibbs , John Daintith
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 1997
Includes thousands of quotes under 700 themes. For example, under the entry politicians a wide variety of quotations appear, from Shakespeare, through Curzon and Churchill, to references to John Major and Paddy Ashdown.
Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable by Adrian Room, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2009
With its unique blend of word and phrase etymology, cultural allusion and general knowledge, and its predilection for the esoteric and the unexpected, this title offers a richly diverse and entertaining exploration of the linguistic and cultural landscape of the modern world. It runs the whole gamut of contemporary culture, from American Psycho to Dadaism and G and T to Lara Croft.
Chambers Dictionary of Great Quotations
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2016
The Chambers Dictionary of Great Quotations is a treasure trove of the wittiest, most insightful, most famous and most important words uttered in history.
Collins Dictionary of Quotations
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2003
Quotations arranged thematically for ease of reference.
Simpson's Contemporary Quotations by James Beasley Simpson
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 1988
Lists outstanding quotable comments uttered since 1950, with special emphasis on the last two dozen years.

Rhyming

The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 1991
Anyone who writes verse, whether lyric poet, songwriter or composer of limericks or jingles, will find this an indispensable reference companion. It offers an astonishingly wide range of suggestions for rhyming words, from the common and everyday to the more difficult and obscure.

Literature

Databases

Literary Reference Center Plus This link opens in a new window
Includes plots, critical articles/essays, author biographies/interviews, full-text poems/short stories, reference works, and more. Browse authors, titles, and keyword search. Recommended for classes.
Ebook Collection by EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window
Extensive collection of online academic books in all subject areas.
MagillOnLiterature Plus This link opens in a new window
Source for critical analyses, character studies, author biographies,and plot summaries of the most studied literary works.

eBooks

Chambers Dictionary of Literary Characters by Una McGovern
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2004
Chambers Dictionary of Literary Characters provides an invaluable guide to the wealth of characters created by writers in English - from the Wife of Bath to Bertie Wooster, and Tom Sawyer to Harry Potter. Features include concise biographies of authors, panels covering such topics as 'The Detective in Fiction' and 'Dickens' Characters', and an appendix of literary awards.
A Dictionary of Literary Symbols by Michael Ferber
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2007
Explains and illustrates the literary symbols that we all frequently encounter (such as swan, rose, moon, gold), and gives hundreds of cross-references and quotations.
The Bloomsbury Dictionary of English Literature by Marion Wynne-Davies
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 1997
Presents a multiplicity of authors, texts and themes gathered together into one authoritative source. The key attractions are entries on writers, entries on individual works, Biblical and mythological characters and events, literary and critical terms and movements, and entries describing historical, cultural and social events.
The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English by Ian Ousby
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2000
An authoritative and international survey of world literature in English. The Guide covers everything from Old English to Contemporary Writing from all over the english-speaking world. It covers poems, novels, literary journals and plays.
The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock
Call Number: Credo Reference eBook
Publication Date: 2014
From vampires and demons to ghosts and zombies, interest in monsters in literature, film, and popular culture has never been stronger. This concise Encyclopedia provides scholars and students with a comprehensive and authoritative A-Z of monsters throughout the ages. It is the first major reference book on monsters for the scholarly market.