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University of Iowa

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Citation Help: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

A quick note:

The following examples follow the Notes-Bibliography style. For Author-Date style, please consult The Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition.

Chicago Citation Examples: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Print Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Well-known reference books, such as major dictionaries and encyclopedias, are normally cited in notes rather than in bibliographies.

Important Elements:

  • Title of Reference Work
  • Edition
  • Date volume was issued
  • For references to an alphabetically arranged work, cite the item (not the volume or page number) preceded by s.v. (sub verbo, “under the word”; pl. s.vv.).

Notes

1. Title of Reference Work, X ed. (Year), s.v. "entry."

2. Title of Reference Work, X ed. (Medium, version, Year), s.v. "entry."

3. Title of Reference Work, (Year), s.v. "entry."

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed. (1980), s.v. “salvation.”

2. Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. (CD-ROM, version 4.0, 2009), s.v. “hoot(e)nanny, hootananny.”

3. Dictionary of American Biography (1937), s.v. “Wadsworth, Jeremiah.”

Most other reference works, however, are more appropriately listed with full publication details like any other book resource. 

Bibliography Entry

Title of Reference Work. X ed. Location: Publisher, Year.

Garner, Bryan A. Garner’s Modern English Usage. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Online Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Important Elements:

  • Title of Reference Work
  • Publication or Revision Date (if none is available, supply access date)
    • For frequently updated resources, a time stamp may be included
  • Stable URL
  • For references to an alphabetically arranged work, cite the item (not the volume or page number) preceded by s.v. (sub verbo, “under the word”; pl. s.v.).

​The facts of publication are often omitted, but signed entries may include the name of the author. Note that names in entries are not always inverted as in printed editions; follow the usage in the source.

Notes

1. Title of Reference, s.v. "entry," accessed Date Month day, year, Stable URL.

1. Merriam-Webster, s.v. “app (n.),” accessed April 6, 2016, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/app.

Turabian Citation Examples: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Important Elements:

  • Author 
  • Title of article 
  • Title of publication
  • Edition number
  • Publication location
  • Publisher
  • Date of publication of article 
  • Page OR reference number
  • For articles retrieved online, include a stable URL or DOI, if available. 

Print Encyclopedias

Notes

1. Author First Name Author Last Name, "Title of Article," Publication Title, edition, (Publication location: Publisher, Date), page OR reference number.

1. Steve Betts, Alan Huckleberry, and Jason Sifford, "9,000 teaching pieces on YouTube: The University of Iowa Piano Pedagogy Project." Clavier Companion, November, 2012, 23.

Bibliography Entry

None. Encyclopedia entry citations may be omitted from your bibliography.

Online Encyclopedias

Notes

1. Author First Name Author Last Name, "Title of Article," Publication Title, accessed Month, Day, Year, Stable URL.

1. Michele Bowe Hustedt, "Voxman, Himie," Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed May 8, 2014,

Bibliography Entry

None. Encyclopedia entry citations may be omitted from your bibliography.

Examples From: Music Citation Guide

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