International Dictionary Day is celebrated on 16 October and Stellenbosch University would like to remind you that you have daily, free access to the best dictionaries in the world.  You do not have to use outdated dictionaries to find the meaning of a word, a synonym or a translation. With the click of a button you can consult one of the JS Gericke Library’s many leading electronic dictionaries, for example the Oxford English Dictionary, Pharos’ online dictionaries or Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (WAT).  Click on http://library.sun.ac.za/English/search/Pages/lang-dict.aspx, select the dictionary of your choice and add it to your “favourites” for easy future reference.  16 October also marks the start of the Sponsor a Word Competition of the WAT in which one lucky participant can win R25 000 sponsored by Sanlam.  Words can be sponsored at R100 a word and each participant will receive a certificate with his or her name and the sponsored word or words. You can also buy a word at R5 000 a word and those words cannot besponsored or bought by another participant.  All sponsors receive free access to the online WAT for six months and if you buy a word for R5 000 the access is free for five years. Go to www.wat.co.za and click on Sponsor a Word if you would like to take part.

Noah Webster was born on 16 October 1758 and Dictionary Day is celebrated worldwide in honour of this famous American compiler of dictionaries.  Webster was a brilliant student and commenced his studies at Yale University at the age of 15.  He would later compile the first American dictionary and is heralded as the father of American lexicography.