science

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary rather than just read about it. In short: Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition is a gazetteer by the publisher Merriam-Webster published in 1998. The original edition was published in 1949 as Webster's Geographical Dictionary.

Key takeaways

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition is a gazetteer by the publisher Merriam-Webster published in 1998. The original edition was published in 1949 as Webster's Geographical Dictionary. The second edition in 1972 was called Webster's New Geographical Dictionary. The completely new third edition features 252 maps produced by the Encyclopædia Britannica cartography department. The latest edition was released in 1997, revised by Donald J. Zeigler, Ph.D Professor of Geography at Old Dominion University, contained over 54,000 entries. The dictionary has currently over 54,000 alphabetically arranged entries of mountains, lakes, towns, and countries. It includes almost all places in the United States with a population greater than 2,500. The threshold for inclusion of places outside the U.S. varies (from those over 4500 in Canada to those over 100,000 in Bangladesh and China). Included are 250 maps in black and white.

Editions Webster's Geographical Dictionary: A Dictionary of Names of Places, With Geographical and Historical Information and Pronunciations. 1949. Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co. 1293 pages, 40,000 entries, 24 colored and 153 b/w maps. Webster's New Geographical Dictionary. 1972. (ISBN 0877791465) Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co. 47,000 entries, 218 maps. Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed. 1997. (ISBN 0-87779-546-0) Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc. 1,361 pages, 48,000 entries. Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd rev. ed. 2001. (ISBN 0-87779-546-0) Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc. 1,392 pages, 54,000 entries, 252 maps.

Similar works Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer of the World. Cohen, Saul B. (ed.). 1998. (ISBN 0-231-11040-5) Columbia University Press. 3578 pages, 165,000 entries Lippincott's New Gazetteer: A Complete Gazetteer or Geographical Dictionary of the World. 1905. Heilprin, A. and L. (eds.). Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co. Longmans' Gazetteer of the World. Chisholm, George C. (ed.). 1895. London and New York: Longmans, Green and Co., about 74,000 names.

References

External links MW books page

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary

In research: Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics English dictionaries, Gazetteers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary in simple terms?

Why does Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary.