Webster's New World Italian Dictionary: Italian/English, English/Italian [ABRIDGED] (Paperback)

by Catherine E. Love (Editor)
Key Phrases: stato maggiore, aus essere, anche fig, Stock Exchange, Brit Aut, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Compiled in collaboration with a team of expert linguists, the Webster's New World concise bilingual dictionaries are the perfect choice for beginning students and advanced speakers as well. Comprehensive and authoritative, yet clear and concise, the dictionaries offer a full array of features, as well as wide-ranging coverage of current expressions. Long-standing favorites in hardcover, the dictionaries will continue to be standard references for years to come -- especially now that they are available in unabridged paperback editions.

• More than 100,000 words, giving wide-ranging coverage of current terms and expressions
• Detailed definitions so the user can understand and translate idiomatically
• Extensive examples of usage, showing how translations of words can vary according to context
• Verb tables, including irregular verbs
• Cross-references from every verb to the appropriate verb table

From the Back Cover
Webster's New World™ Italian Dictionary Italian/English ■ English/Italian Concise Edition The combination of extensive coverage and outstanding clarity, simplicity and economy makes this dictionary ideal for home, school and office use.

Extensive Coverage—The most frequently used words in both languages are detailed, helping the user to understand and to translate idiomatically.

Examples of Usage—Thousands of phrases show how the meanings of words can vary in different contexts.

Special Features—Other aids include pronunciation guides, comprehensive Italian verb tables and full treatment of English phrasal verbs.Also available: Webster's New World™ French Dictionary (Concise Edition) Webster's New World™ German Dictionary (Concise Edition) Webster's New World™ Spanish Dictionary (Concise Edition)

Product Details

• Paperback: 1032 pages
• Publisher: Webster's New World; Concise edition (September 29, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0139536396
• ISBN-13: 978-0139536397
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,142 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Basic Dictionary with One Small Caveat, December 20, 2002

By	J. Hoopes (Costa Mesa, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm new to Italian. I'm studying the language in college. So I was looking for a good dictionary and this is a good one. It has quite a few idiomatic expressions in it as well as the standard definitions of words. My professor has had a few minor disagreements with the dictionary in regard to a couple of definitions. For example, her word for graceful is different than the one provided. But she didn't say the word the dictionary gave was wrong, just not as commonly used.

My one caveat is that this is actually a British-Italian dictionary; after all, it's printed in England. As an American, for the most part, that doesn't matter much. When you look up the Italian word, colore, you'll find the British spelling, colour. That's very minor. However, it does make a bit more different in the examples provided. Sometimes, when words are used in a sentence in this dictionary, the example is specific to England. For example, they'll use Pound Sterling in a sentence about money instead of dollars and Euros. Still not a big deal, but something you might want to be aware of. That may explain some of the differences my Italian professor had with the definitions of certain words.

But overall, a good basic Italian-English (with a British slant) dictionary.

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Webster's New World Italian Dictionary: the "Rocky" of Italian-English portables, July 22, 2006

By	T. Luck "theloniusluck" (Boh.) - See all my reviews

Webster's New World Italian Dictionary (Concise Ed. = ISBN 0139536396) was THE outstanding portable for many years, and though it has not been updated since 1985 (1992 date listed on amazon is the reprint date), I believe it is only surpassed in the abridged/concise/portable category by the Concise Oxford-Paravia Italian Dictionary, a heavier, larger hardcover. I used the Webster's through my entire undergraduate program and was frequently asked to look up definitions that students with inferior portables could not find (I found nearly every word I searched). Though the Webster's lacks many neologisms of the past 20 years, the cultural notes, the keyword guides, the "Italian in Action" grammar guide, and the two-color format of the Collins Italian Concise Dictionary, 4e (HarperCollins Concise Dictionaries), I still recommend it over the Collins. Though the number of entries for both concise dictionaries is advertised as roughly the same, and both feature excellent usage examples in phrases, the Webster's appears to remain the overall champ for detailed entries. Catherine E. Love is editor on both dictionaries (with others). I believe newbie Italian students may be tempted to buy the up-to-date Collins Italian Concise Dictionary over the 23-yr. old Webster's, but I recommend the Webster's over Collins Concise and the Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary (NOT truly a "pocket" or mini-dictionary), which also has added features (you can read similar notes I've posted at the Pocket Oxford link above).

A note on pronunciation guidelines in Webster's and Collins:
The Webster's lists the syllabic stress within an IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) form of the entry word in brackets, after the initial headword. Because Italian pronunciation is generally straightforward, this means that the word in brackets often matches the exact spelling of the headword, though with the stress notation added. The Collins Concise avoids what some may consider redundancy by noting IPA translation only for those Italian words it considers more difficult to pronounce -- i.e., those which require the use of IPA symbols that don't correspond to the standard roman alphabet.

P.S. Only those students who are just trying to get through their language requirement will be interested in lower-priced (retail approx. $4.95 to 9.95 or so), bilingual (newsprint -- uffa!) dictionaries. Oxford, Collins/HarperCollins, and others publish these inferior, if lower-priced dictionaries, in addition to the excellent concise dictionaries in the approx. $12-16 price range, of which the Webster's featured here is the old favorite. I suspect that the newsprint cheapos are manufactured primarily to provide a lower-priced dictionary to bundle with school textbooks. Note that newsprint often triggers allergies (migraines, etc.) and is quick to deteriorate. If you feel that you are a somewhat disinterested student, keep in mind that you just may fall in love with the language you're studying and wish you had invested in the mid-level, excellent concise dictionary from the start, instead of throwing away $10 on a stinky newsprint job with brief entries.

If you're a lukewarm student and feel you just do not want to put out more than $10, or must have something lighter in your backpack, then go for the Oxford Italian Mini Dictionary or the Collins Gem Italian, 6th Edition. Both of these minis have durable flexi-covers, blue headwords, and: ***phrasebooks for travelers!*** The cover of the Oxford Mini states "100,000 entries and translations." The Collins Gem appears to have approx. as many entries as the Oxford Mini. Either one of these is an excellent choice for travelers as vocabulary is almost always a concern, and standard phrasebooks have much more limited dictionaries within. Both minis appear to have as many entries as the higher-priced "newsprints," are certainly more durable, portable (smaller, if chubby), and are printed on better paper!

P.P.S. For those American students who think they SHOULD be studying Spanish ("instead"), keep in mind that INTERNAL motivation is one of the best predictors for success in any field or area of study. If you want to study Italian (or an obscure, "dying" language/dialect, for that matter), then go for Italian and don't look back. The discipline gained from mastering Italian is an award in itself, and mastery of this beautiful language will greatly aide you with Spanish and other romance languages -- and indeed any future language study.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Italian dictionary on the market!, October 3, 2004

By	Italophile - See all my reviews

In the three years that I have been studying and speaking Italian, this is the single best dictionary that I have come across. I have several others (Oxford, Langenscheidt's, etc.) which are all fine, but don't come close to the Websters. The Websters includes practical examples, idioms, verb conjugation and several other useful tools that really make it top notch.

I spent the better part of a year at a language school in Italy, and the Websters was invaluable. When I was preparing to return to the U.S., my instructors asked if I would leave them my copy!

I will concede that the Websters is too big for carrying on your travels, but if you are studying or corresponding with Italians, you simply cannot find a better dictionary.