Reading a Definition

Basic entries

A straightforward entry looks like this:

RETINA	a membrane of the eye [n. -NAS or -NAE]

Part	Meaning
`a membrane of the eye`	The definition
`[n. -NAS or -NAE]`	Part of speech and inflections — here: noun, with two valid plurals

Part-of-speech abbreviations

Symbol	Meaning
`n.`	noun
`n.pl.`	noun, plural only
`v.`	verb
`a.`	adjective
`b.`	adverb
`c.`	conjunction
`i.`	interjection
`p.`	pronoun
`o.`	possessive pronoun
`e.`	definite article
`f.`	indefinite article

Inflected forms — the `< ROOT,` prefix

Inflected forms (plurals, past tenses, comparatives, etc.) show their base word:

RETINAS    < RETINA, [n. -NAS or -NAE] · a membrane of the eye

The < RETINA, tells you that RETINAS is an inflection of RETINA.

Look up the root word for the full entry.

Multiple parts of speech

Some words function as more than one part of speech. Each additional sense

appears after / ----- on the same definition line:

COW    [n. -S or KINE°] · a farm animal
       / ----- [v. -ED, -ING, -S] · to intimidate

This also shows that COW has an irregular plural KINE.

Irregular inflections and the `°` marker

When ° follows a word in the inflection list, that form can also take an

-S:

AGE    [v. AGED, AGING° or AGEING°, AGES] · to grow old

Both AGINGS and AGEINGS are valid words.

Alternate spellings — the `{ }` block

When a word has valid alternate spellings, they appear using "[x]" followed by curly-brace block. Groups within the block are separated by §, which divides different grammatical forms (singular from plural, present from past tense, etc.):

The [x] is used because Zyzzyva displays blocks in parts of speech order, and so [x] is used to have this block appear last.

AGEING	[n. -S] · aging / [x] { ageing aging § ageings agings § ageing aging § ageing aging }

AERIE	[n. -S] · a bird's nest built high on a mountain or cliff - AERIED [a.] / [x] { aerie aery eyrie eyry § aeries eyries § aeried aerier aeriest aery }

All words listed in a { } block are valid in tournament play.

Cross-references — `«...»`

When a definition refers to another word by name, that word's definition is

shown inline in angle quotes so you don't have to look it up separately:

ACTINIAN    [n. -S] · actinia «a marine animal»

ACTINIAN means the same thing as ACTINIA; the «…» supplies ACTINIA's

definition on the spot.

Definition Source Markers

Marker	Where it appears	Meaning
(no marker)	Start of definition	Authored by Joseph Petree (OWL 2.1 extended dictionary)
`©`	Start of definition	From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 (public domain)
`+`	End of definition	Definition generated programmatically
`†`	Start of definition	Sourced from Wiktionary, formatted by Claude Sonnet AI
`!`	Start of definition	This word has been expurgated from NWL23 and appears in WOW24.
`~`	After a word in definition text	That word is not a valid tournament word
`°`	After a word in inflection list	That inflected form can also take -S

† example — words added to WOW24 that post-date OWL3:

ABRIDGEABLE	—	† [a.] · capable of being abridged

ACETABULAR	[a.] · © cup-shaped~; saucer-shaped~; acetabuliform~

that those words are not valid in tournament play.

Polyorths

A marking of [x] These entries include variant spellings (polyorths) in curly brackets with the main entry followed

by parts of speech separated by §.

AARRGHH   [i.] · aargh «used to express disgust» / [x] { argh § aargh aarrgh aarrghh argh }

Word List Coverage

This dictionary is based on WOW24 — the WGPO Official Words 2024 list,

the current standard for WGPO tournament Scrabble. It is a separate lexicon

from NASPA's NWL2023 (used in North American club and tournament play);

the two lists overlap substantially but are not identical.

The Petree definition file was last updated in 2016 (OWL2.1 base). Words

added to WOW24 after that date carry † (Wiktionary/AI) definitions.