dic-tion-ar-y |ˈdik sh əˌnerē| (abbr.: dict.)
noun ( pl. -aries)
a book that lists the words of a language in
alphabetical order and gives their meaning, or that gives the equivalent words in a different language.
• a reference book on any subject, the items of which are arranged in
alphabetical order : a dictionary of quotations.
ORIGIN
early 16th cent.: from medieval Latin
dictionarium (manuale) or dictionarius (liber) ‘manual or book of words,’ from Latin dictio (see diction ).