Wiktionary
Wiktionary is a collaborative, multilingual, web-based project operated by the Wikimedia Foundation to create open-content dictionaries covering definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, and translations for words in all languages.[1][2] Launched on December 12, 2002, with the English edition initiated by Brion Vibber, Wiktionary quickly expanded; the French and Polish editions followed on March 22, 2004, and on May 1, 2004, developer Tim Starling initialized 143 additional editions for languages that already had Wikipedias.[1] As of September 2025, there are 174 active Wiktionary editions,[3] each maintained by volunteer editors who contribute entries under free licenses such as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.[1] Unlike traditional dictionaries, Wiktionary entries often include detailed linguistic information, such as parts of speech, synonyms, antonyms, and usage examples, with a focus on inclusivity for lesser-resourced languages through community-driven efforts and support from groups like the Tremendous Wiktionary User Group.[1] Test projects for new language editions are hosted on the Wikimedia Incubator to ensure viability before full launch.[1] The project's structure uses MediaWiki software, featuring case-sensitive page names and namespaces for entries, discussions, and appendices, making it a dynamic resource that evolves with global contributions.[1]Introduction and Overview
Definition and Purpose
Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project operated by the Wikimedia Foundation to create a collaborative, free-content dictionary covering terms in all languages.[4][5] It provides definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, translations, and related linguistic information for words, phrases, idioms, proverbs, abbreviations, and other lexical items.[4] As a descriptive rather than prescriptive resource, Wiktionary documents how languages are actually used, serving users such as language learners, writers, and researchers seeking comprehensive lexical data.[4] The project was founded to address the need for a freely editable dictionary, extending Wikipedia's encyclopedic model by focusing on linguistic entries rather than broader knowledge topics.[4] Proposed as the second Wikimedia project after Wikipedia, it launched on December 12, 2002, with the goal of building an international dictionary through open contributions from volunteers worldwide.[5] Wiktionary's content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL, version 1.2 or later), allowing free access, reuse, modification, and distribution while requiring attribution and share-alike conditions.[6] This open licensing supports its purpose of fostering a global, reusable knowledge base. Wiktionary operates in numerous language editions to accommodate diverse linguistic needs.[4]Key Features and Scope
Wiktionary employs a hierarchical entry structure that organizes information under language-specific sections, with subsections for parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives.[7] Each part-of-speech section includes numbered definitions, etymologies detailing word origins, pronunciations in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) notation alongside optional audio files, synonyms and antonyms listed under dedicated headings, translations into other languages, and usage examples often presented as italicized sentences with context.[7] This standardized layout ensures comprehensive lexical coverage while facilitating easy navigation and editing. The scope of Wiktionary is exceptionally broad, aiming to document all words in all languages without imposing notability requirements, unlike encyclopedic projects such as Wikipedia.[8] It includes proper nouns like names and place names if attested, neologisms provided they meet recent attestation criteria, archaic and historical terms, slang, regional dialects, and entries for constructed languages such as Esperanto, Ido, Interlingua, and Volapük.[8] Entries require attestation through reliable sources to verify usage, emphasizing a descriptivist approach that captures linguistic diversity across natural, sign, and select artificial languages. Search and navigation tools enhance accessibility, with the MediaWiki-powered search bar supporting queries filtered by language namespaces (e.g., "English:" prefix) and categories for parts of speech (e.g., Category:English nouns) or etymological themes.[9] Interproject links connect entries to sister Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia for contextual articles and Wikimedia Commons for related images. Multimedia integration features audio pronunciations embedded via templates like {{audio}}, which pull files from Commons, and illustrative images similarly linked to provide visual or auditory support for definitions.[10] This inclusive framework is maintained through community-driven editing, where volunteers adhere to guidelines to ensure accuracy and consistency.[7]History
Founding and Early Years
Wiktionary originated as an idea conceived by Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia, in 2002, to serve as a collaborative dictionary companion to the encyclopedia project. The formal proposal was made by Daniel Alston (user Fonzy) on the Meta-Wiki discussion page, envisioning a wiki-based dictionary under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) that would include definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, synonyms, and multilingual translations linked to Wikipedia entries.[11][12] The English Wiktionary was launched on December 12, 2002, by developer Brion Vibber using a basic MediaWiki setup initially hosted at wiktionary.wikipedia.org, with an early focus on English-language entries contributed by volunteers. The first entries appeared shortly after launch in late 2002 and continued into 2003, covering simple definitions and basic linguistic data drawn from public domain sources and user knowledge. In June 2003, following the establishment of the Wikimedia Foundation on June 20, Wiktionary was integrated as one of its core projects alongside Wikipedia, providing nonprofit oversight and technical support for its volunteer-driven expansion.[11][13][14] Early operations under the GFDL license faced hurdles, including copyright concerns over dictionary content and risks of error propagation in the open-editing model, as discussed in initial community talks. Growth was slow, reliant on a small volunteer base without automated tools, leading to modest entry accumulation in the first few years; for instance, significant acceleration only occurred later with bot-assisted imports in non-English editions around 2006. The absence of formalized editing guidelines in the outset resulted in inconsistent entry formats, prompting ongoing community debates on structure, such as handling multilingual links and thesaurus elements, which evolved through trial and error. In 2009, Wiktionary transitioned to a dual licensing model incorporating the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC-BY-SA) license alongside GFDL to enhance reusability, approved by the Wikimedia community and implemented across all projects.[11][12][15]Growth and Milestones
Wiktionary's growth has been marked by steady expansion in content and community participation since its early years. The English edition reached its one millionth entry, "good job" as an interjection, on October 18, 2008, signifying a major milestone in collaborative lexicography.[16] By July 2021, the project surpassed 30 million total articles across all editions, reflecting the cumulative efforts of volunteer editors worldwide. As of November 2025, the active Wiktionary editions contained a total of 46,723,809 articles, demonstrating sustained scaling through multilingual contributions.[3] Key drivers of this expansion include the proliferation of language editions, which grew from a few initial versions in 2003 to 174 active ones by 2025, enabling diverse linguistic coverage.[3] Community engagement included 9,741 active users across editions as of November 2025, supporting ongoing additions and refinements.[3] Notable events further bolstered development, such as the 2009 migration to the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license, which facilitated broader reuse and compatibility with other open resources.[15] In 2018, integration with Wikidata advanced the storage and querying of lexical data, enhancing interoperability for editors and external applications.[17] In 2023, the licensing was updated to Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 to further improve compatibility and reusability.[18] The project's quantitative scope underscores its impact, with the English edition exceeding 8.6 million entries by November 2025.[3] Leading non-English editions include French with over 6.8 million entries and Malagasy with more than 5.7 million, highlighting the role of dedicated contributors in less-resourced languages.[3] Visual identity evolved alongside, from an initial dictionary-inspired logo in 2004 to the current stylized "W" tile design adopted across most editions.[19] These milestones illustrate Wiktionary's transition from a nascent dictionary project to a comprehensive, globally accessible lexical resource.Multilingual Nature
Language Editions
Wiktionary is organized into distinct language editions, each accessible via a dedicated subdomain such as en.wiktionary.org for English or fr.wiktionary.org for French. These editions function as independent wikis, allowing communities to develop dictionaries tailored to specific languages while maintaining the project's overall multilingual scope. As of November 2025, there are 198 Wiktionary editions in total, of which 174 are active, meaning they receive ongoing contributions and maintenance. The creation of a new language edition begins with a formal proposal submitted through the Requests for new languages process on Meta-Wiki, the central coordination site for Wikimedia projects. Proposers must demonstrate sufficient community interest, typically by developing initial content and establishing an active group of editors, often starting within the Wikimedia Incubator to test viability. The Wikimedia Language Committee evaluates these requests based on criteria such as linguistic eligibility, community commitment, and potential for sustained growth before approving the subdomain and enabling full operation. Across editions, Wiktionary editions share the underlying MediaWiki software, which provides consistent technical infrastructure including editing tools and database management. Core policies on content quality, neutrality, and licensing are harmonized through Wikimedia-wide guidelines, though each edition adapts them to linguistic and cultural contexts via local community consensus. Inter-edition connectivity is enhanced by cross-language links, which allow users to navigate translations and related terms directly between editions, such as linking an English entry to its French equivalent. The English edition plays a pivotal role as a meta-hub, hosting coordination resources, shared templates, and discussions that support project-wide initiatives. A number of editions have become inactive over time due to waning editor participation, resulting in 24 dormant or closed sites as of November 2025. Examples include proposals to revive low-activity editions like the Rusyn test project, which stalled without sustained contributions. The Wikimedia Foundation supports revival efforts through targeted grants, such as the 2025 Wikimedia Libya Community Support Grant aimed at reactivating the Arabic edition by engaging new contributors in language documentation.[20][21]Content Across Languages
The content volume in Wiktionary exhibits significant disparities across its language editions, reflecting differences in contributor engagement and resource availability. The English edition stands as the largest, with over 9.7 million entries as of November 2025.[22] In contrast, the French edition contains approximately 6.8 million articles, while smaller editions such as Swahili have under 50,000 articles, highlighting the uneven distribution of effort among the project's 174 active language versions.[23] Collectively, these editions encompass over 46.7 million articles in active sites, underscoring Wiktionary's expansive but imbalanced scope. Content focus varies notably between editions, shaped by community priorities and linguistic contexts. The English Wiktionary places strong emphasis on etymology, tracing word origins in depth, and includes extensive coverage of slang, idioms, and regional variants to capture contemporary usage. Non-English editions, such as German and Russian, often prioritize cross-lingual elements, with many entries derived as translations from dominant languages like English to facilitate accessibility for learners and speakers of minority or less-resourced tongues.[24] Coverage of indigenous and endangered languages benefits from collaborative projects like Wikitongues, which supports documentation efforts integrated into Wiktionary through oral histories and lexical data contributions.[25] Quality initiatives address these variations through targeted efforts tailored to specific languages. Language-specific glossaries, such as those for pronunciation and terminology in under-documented tongues, aid in standardizing entries, while periodic cleanup drives focus on verifying attestations and removing unsubstantiated content.[26] However, low-resource languages face persistent challenges, including a scarcity of native speaker contributors, which limits depth and accuracy compared to well-supported editions.[27] These hurdles are compounded by the volunteer-driven model, where motivation and expertise unevenly influence content reliability across editions.[28] Cross-lingual features enhance connectivity despite these disparities, enabling users to navigate related content seamlessly. Translation tables, embedded within entries, list equivalents in multiple languages, promoting comparative lexicography and aiding multilingual research. Additionally, Wiktionary includes dedicated sections for reconstructed proto-languages, such as Proto-Indo-European, where hypothetical forms and cognates are documented to support historical linguistics, often drawing on scholarly reconstructions. These elements foster a networked approach, allowing smaller editions to leverage insights from larger ones without duplicating efforts.Content Creation and Structure
Entry Format
Wiktionary entries follow a standardized structure designed to organize lexical information systematically across multiple languages. Each entry begins with the headword, represented by the page title in lowercase (unless a proper noun), followed by a level 2 heading for the language code, such as "==English==". This is succeeded by a pronunciation section under a level 3 heading, featuring International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions, audio pronunciations, rhymes, and hyphenation where applicable. The etymology section, also a level 3 heading, details the word's origin and may be numbered for homonyms (e.g., "Etymology 1"). Subsequent subsections for parts of speech, such as "===Noun===", contain the core content: numbered definitions (#) with glosses and examples, often linking key terms for clarity. Additional level 4 headings cover synonyms (words with similar meanings), derived terms (morphological derivatives like compounds or inflections), and translations (organized by sense and language). This hierarchical layout ensures comprehensive coverage while maintaining readability.[29][30] To promote consistency and efficiency, Wiktionary utilizes MediaWiki templates that automate formatting and categorization. For instance, the {{en-noun}} template for English nouns generates the headword line, including plural forms, declension patterns, and automatic addition to relevant categories, as in{{en-noun|pl=works}}. Similarly, {{head}} serves as a generic template for various languages and parts of speech, while {{t|language|term}} standardizes translations with gender and sense indicators. This modular approach allows templates to be reused and adapted across the project's 174 active language editions (as of November 2025), reducing redundancy and enabling machine parsing for applications like natural language processing. Templates are invoked via wikitext, with parameters for specifics like senses or qualifiers, fostering a semi-structured format that balances flexibility with standardization.[29][30]
Special sections enhance depth beyond core definitions. Usage notes, under a level 4 heading, provide contextual guidance on grammar, regional variations, or connotations. Quotations subsections illustrate historical or contemporary usage with sourced examples, often formatted as bulleted lists. Coordinate terms list semantically related words, such as hyponyms or meronyms, while appendices link to external pages for idioms, proverbs, or variant forms (e.g., [Appendix:English idioms]). These elements are optional but encouraged for idiomatic or complex entries, supporting Wiktionary's goal of exhaustive lexical documentation.[29][30]
The entry format originated with basic wiki markup upon Wiktionary's launch in December 2002, evolving through community discussions to incorporate structured templates by 2006 for better organization and parsability. Ongoing refinements, driven by votes and feedback, have focused on accessibility, such as improved pronunciation rendering and template interoperability, ensuring adaptability to new linguistic data and user needs. Community policies enforce this format to maintain uniformity.[31]