reference work

A compendium of information which is not generally intended to be read from beginning to end but rather consulted on a spot basis, and is compiled for ease of reference; especially, a reference book, whether in print, digital, or both.

Noun

  1. A compendium of information which is not generally intended to be read from beginning to end but rather consulted on a spot basis, and is compiled for ease of reference; especially, a reference book, whether in print, digital, or both.

Origin

Etymology tree English reference Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom Proto-Germanic *werką Proto-West Germanic *werk Old English weorc Middle English werk English work English reference work From reference + work.

Forms

reference works

Synonyms

reference work

Hyponyms

dictionary directory lexicon encyclopedic dictionary etymological dictionary translating dictionary minidictionary subdictionary wordbook encyclopedia encyclopædia encyclopaedia thesaurus minithesaurus concordance index grammar grammary handbook instruction manual manual pocketbook pocket reference reference book

Related

database file file system filing system information reference book