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Macdonell, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (MD)

MD is Arthur Anthony Macdonell's A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1893) — a compact student's dictionary, concise and accented, long valued as a learner's companion for reading classical and Vedic texts. Glosses are in English.

At a glance​

CodeMD (GitHub repo MD)
Full titleA Sanskrit-English Dictionary
AuthorArthur A. Macdonell
Year / size1893 · ~384 pages
DirectionSanskrit → English
AccentsYes (marked on headwords)
Sourcecsl-orig/v02/md/
OpenBasic · List · Advanced · Mobile
DataDownloads · Scans
csl-docmd.rst

When to use it​

Reach for MD as a quick, accented student dictionary — short definitions, the accent shown, ideal while reading. For fuller coverage use Monier-Williams (MW) or Apte (AP90); Macdonell is the lighter companion (the author also wrote the standard Vedic Grammar for Students).

Looking up a word​

Open the Basic display, pick your input/output transliteration (see Encoding & Transliteration), and type the headword. The List and Advanced displays browse and search inside entries — see Search & Display.

Reading an entry​

Macdonell gives the SLP1 headword in {#…#} then the accented IAST form, tags grammar with <lex> and abbreviations with <ab>, and marks sub-points with a bullet. The entry aṃśa (csl-orig/v02/md/md.txt):

<L>3<pc>001-1<k1>aMSa<k2>aMSa
{#aMSa#}¦ áṃśa, <lex>m.</lex> part, share; <ab>N.</ab> {%of a god%}: <ab>in.</ab> 🞄partly.
In the sourceMeaning
<pc>001-1page-column reference (p. 1, col. 1)
{#aMSa#} · áṃśathe headword (SLP1 search key <k1>) then its accented IAST form (áṃśa)
<lex>m.</lex>grammatical category (masculine)
part, share · <ab>N.</ab> of a godthe English glosses
<ab>in.</ab> 🞄partlya noted form — the instrumental aṃśena "partly"

See Data Formats for the markup reference.

What makes it distinctive​

  • Compact and accented. A student's dictionary that shows the Vedic accent on every headword.
  • Reading companion. Pairs naturally with Macdonell's grammars; terse, fast to consult.

See also​