Definition:
A book of synonyms, often including related words and antonyms. Plural, thesauri or thesauruses. See also: To a Thesaurus.
Etymology:
From the Latin, "treasury"Examples and Observations:
- Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869) was a physician, a scientist, an inventor, and a Fellow of the Royal Society. His fame rests on a book that he published in 1852: Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition. Neither Roget nor thesaurus is copyrighted, and several different versions of Roget's work are available today.
- HANK: A proposition for you, Homer. I'll go in there with you, or I'll shoot you.
HOMER: That's not a proposition, that's a threat.
HANK: Some thesauruses render them synonymous.
("Privately Saving Homer," The Simpsons) - "The limitations of most thesauri are revealed in the directions given in one edition of Roget:
Turning to No. 866 (the sense required) we read through the varied list of synonyms . . . and select the most appropriate expression. [Italics added]
The matter of selection is critical, and a thesaurus does not offer much help. For example, among the synonyms listed in one Roget under the category seclusion/exclusion are solitude, isolation, loneliness, and aloofness. They are merely listed as alternates with no distinctions drawn. but, except in a very loose sense, these words are not synonymous and may not be interchanged indiscriminately.
"To use these 'synonyms' effectively you need to know considerably more about them than a thesaurus is likely to tell you. With many words--those in the example, for instance--a good abridged dictionary is more helpful. . . . [But] used wisely, [a thesaurus] can improve your working vocabulary."
(T. S. Kane, The New Oxford Guide to Writing. Oxford Univ. Press, 1988) - "What's another word for thesaurus?"
(Steven Wright)
Pronunciation: thi-SOR-us
