Help:Creating a new entry

From Wiktionary

To see how you can get to the entry creation page, please see Help:Starting a new page.

Kinds of entries and how to make them[change]

Once you are at the entry that you want to create, there are several different kinds of entries that you can create:

Noun entries[change]

When creating an entry for a noun, there are several things that you want to make sure of first. First, look on the English Wiktionary click here for English Wiktionary for the word that you want to create using the search option. If it is a noun, then follow these steps:

  1. First, on the new entry here, type in ==Noun== up top of the page. This is because the entry is a noun.
  2. Second, right below the ==Noun== heading, type in {{noun}} if the noun is a regular noun, or if the noun is an irregular noun, such as cities, type in {{irrnoun|<type in plural of noun here>}}
  3. Third, right below that, type in the # followed by the definition of the word in Simple English. The definition can be simplified from the English Wiktionary's entry for the same word.
  4. Fourth, on the English Wiktionary's entry for the word, see if there is a heading titled, Pronunciation. If there is a heading titled Pronunciation, see if there are any pronunciations for the word. Copy them if there are and paste them above the ==Noun== heading.
  5. Fifth, if there are any Synonyms or Antonyms for the word that you made on the English Wiktionary's entry for the entry here you are making, add them underneath the headings ===Synonyms=== for synonyms and ===Antonyms=== for antonyms. Place them underneath the simplified definition of the word.
  6. Sixth, if the English Wiktionary has a heading titled Derived terms or Related terms, take the most commonly used of them and add them to a heading underneath any Synonym or Antonym headings titled ===Related words===.
  7. Seventh, if the entry that you made belongs in a category, put it in that category. For example, add the category Category:Foods to the entry for strawberry.
  8. Eighth, look on the English Wiktionary's entry for the word you are creating. If there is a heading titled Alternate spellings, add a heading above the ==Noun== heading, but below the ===Pronunciation=== using the ===Other spellings=== heading.
  9. Ninth, if you can have more than one of the same type of noun, for example, five balloons, then add the {{countable}} template right after the # of the definition. This rule only needs to be followed for noun entries.
  10. However, if the noun cannot be quantified, for example, like clarity, then follow these:
    First, instead of adding {{countable}} in front of the # of the definition line, add {{uncountable}} in the same place. This rule only needs to be followed for noun entries.
    Second, instead of adding {{noun}} right beneath the ==Noun== heading, type in {{noun|<insert title of noun entry here>|none}} instead. This rule only needs to be followed for noun entries.
  11. Finally, add the interwiki link to the English Wiktionary using the following syntax: [[en:<insert title of entry here>]]

If there is no Pronunciation, Synonyms, Antonyms, Derived terms, Related terms, or Alternate spellings headings on the English Wiktionary's entry for the word you are wanting to add, then don't add them.

Verb entries[change]

If you want to make a verb entry, follow the same rules as above, except for the first two rules. Instead, follow these:

  1. Instead of adding ==Noun== to the entry, add ==Verb== to the entry, in the same place as the ==Noun== heading.
  2. Instead of adding {{noun}} or {{irrnoun|<insert irregular plural of noun here>}}, type in {{verb}} instead.
    1. Please be warned when making verb entries. Some of the tenses of the verb can be irregular. For example, the verb go is irregular. Instead of adding just the {{verb}} template, add the following (example): {{verb|go|goes|gone|gone|going}} instead. The syntax is as follows: {{verb|<insert entry name here>|<insert third person singular tense here>|<insert past tense+ participle here>|<insert past tense+participle here>|<insert present tense here>}}
      Examples:
      {{verb|do|does|done|done|doing}}
      {{verb|complete|completes|completed|completed|completing}}

Adjective entries[change]

If you want to make an adjective entry, follow the same rules as a noun entry, except the first two rules. Instead, follow these:

  1. Instead of adding ==Noun== or ==Verb== to the entry, add a ==Adjective== heading in the same place as the ==Noun== heading.
  2. Instead of adding {{noun}} or {{irrnoun|<insert irregular plural of noun here>}} or {{verb}}, type in {{adjective}} instead.

When adding adjective entries, there is an extra step(s) that one must take as well:

  1. When looking at the English Wiktionary's entry for the word you are adding, see if the adjective is comparable or not comparable. If it is comparable, instead of just {{adjective}}, add {{adjective|more=true}} to the entry in the same spot as the previous types of entries. If it is not comparable, instead of just {{adjective}}, add {{adjective|more=false}} to the entry in the same spot as the previous types of entries.
  2. If the adjective has specific spellings of the comparative and superlative tenses of the word, for example, quick, quicker, and quickest, type this in: {{adjective|<insert entry title here>|<insert the comparative form here>|<insert the superlative form here>}}.
    Examples:
    {{adjective|quick|quicker|quickest}}
    {{adjective|fast|faster|fastest}}

Adverb entries[change]

If you want to make an adverb entry, follow the same rules as a noun entry, except the first two rules. Instead, follow these:

  1. Instead of adding ==Noun== or ==Verb== or ==Adjective== to the entry, add ==Adverb== heading in the same place as the ==Noun== heading.
  2. Instead of adding {{noun}} or {{irrnoun|<insert irregular plural of noun here>}} or {{verb}} or {{adjective}} templates, type in a {{adverb}} template instead.

Most of these entries end in -ly.

If it can be compared, follow this rule:

  1. Instead of adding {{adverb}}, add {{adverb|more=true}}.

Entries with multiple parts of speech[change]

There are some words, like up or down, that require you to make an entry for more than one part of speech. For example, if you need to make an entry for a word that is both a noun and a verb, follow the rules for both noun entries and verb entries, only put the headings for both ==Noun== and ==Verb== right above and beneath one another. For example, right beneath the whole part for the noun entry, add the verb entry. Think of it as writing a noun entry and a verb entry on the same page.

There are a few things to remember when doing this, though:

  1. Synonyms and antonyms should be written underneath the part of speech for which they are antonyms and synonyms.
  2. Categories and interwikis go at the bottom of the page instead of at the bottom of both the noun and verb entries. You just write the interwiki and category at the bottom of the entire entry.
  3. Make sure that they are proper parts of speech for said word you are writing an entry for.

Other parts of an entry[change]

After you have written the main part of an entry, there are a few more things that you should do before hitting the submit key on your keyboard:

Interwikis[change]

Interwiki links are links to other wikis that have the same entry that you are looking up here, so that you can find more information on the entry that you are needing information for.

  1. After you have written all of the parts of speeches in your new entry, look on the English Wiktionary to see if it has an entry for the same word that you are writing an entry here for.
  2. If it does have one, at the bottom of your entry, add the following:
    [[en:{{SUBST:PAGENAME}}]]
  3. Once you save the page, the interwiki will be added to your entry.

Example sentences[change]

An example sentence is a sentence that is written right after a definition in an entry that helps the reader of the entry understand how to properly use the word the entry is about. They are always written right after the definition that they are trying to show a use for. They need to be written in a simple way, and they need to exemplify the word in question.

To add an example sentence to an entry, including your own, add the following underneath the definition that you want to add an example sentence to:

This is an example using the word beam:

==Noun==
{{noun}}
# <insert definition>
#: ''The '''beam''' of light from the flashlight was strong.''

That is just an example of how one can add an example sentence to an entry, including your own. Please make sure that there are no wikilinks in the example sentence, and that the word that the entry is about is bolded. In the case of the example above, the word beam should be bolded. Also, example sentences are usually written in italics; this is done by enclosing the entire example sentence in two apostrophes.

Related words, synonyms, antonyms and see also[change]

Synonyms of words are different words that have the same meaning as the word that your entry is about. For example, if an entry was being written for the word strong, an example of a synonym would be powerful.

Antonyms of words are different words that mean the opposite of the word that your entry is about. For example, if an entry was being written for the word strong, an example of an antonym would be weak or feeble.

Related words are words that are related to the word that your entry is about. For example, if an entry was being written for the word strong, an example of a related word would be strongly.

The see also section of an entry is where words that relate to the same concept of the word that entry is about are placed. For example, if an entry was being written for the word acid, an example of a word that could be placed under the see also header could be chemistry, or if an entry was being written for strong, an example of a word that could be placed under the see also header in the entry could be strength.

These should all be written after the definition and example sentence of the part of speech of the entry that they relate to.

For example, in the case of strong:

==Adjective==
{{adjective|more=true}}
# If something or someone is [[strong]], they have a lot of [[strength]].
#: ''The bodybuilder is '''strong''' because he is able to easily lift a 150 pound weight.''

===Synonyms===
* [[powerful]]

===Antonyms===
* [[weak]]
* [[feeble]]

===Related words===
* [[strongly]]

===See also===
* [[strength]]

The order shown above should be the order in which the headers for each part of speech should be used in, however, please note that not every part of speech will have all of these headers. They should only be added to an entry in the following cases:

  • If there are other words that has the same meaning as one of the definitions in the entry being written.
  • If there are other words that mean the opposite of any of the definitions in the entry being written.
  • If there are words that relate to the word that the entry is currently being written about.
  • If there are words that relate to a topic or subject of a word that an entry is being written about.

In most cases, a see also section isn't needed, but in some cases, especially when writing entries about very common words, such as tree and lake, they should be used. In most other cases, especially when writing about more complex words like demoralize and advantageous, the see also header isn't needed because it is already taken care of by the other headers in the entry or because the word the entry is about is too complex of a word to have any words to place under a see also header, or because the word is too vague to find a specific topic to find other words to put into the see also header.

This should be done more than once if an entry has more than one part of speech that have different synonyms, antonyms, and related words.

Pronunciations, hyphenations, other spellings and homophones[change]

A pronunciation is an audio file or written way of how you pronounce a certain word.

A hyphenation of a word shows how the word is hyphenated.

An other spelling of a word is another way of spelling the word that your entry is about.

A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word with a different meaning, like pear and pair.

If the entry doesn't include any of these sections, then they do not need to be added to the entry, but they should be added to an entry if:

  • There is a pronunciation section on the English Wiktionary for the word that the entry is about.
  • The word that an entry is about has more than one syllable.
  • The word that an entry is about has different ways of spelling it, such as in the case of demoralize and demoralise, which are two ways of spelling the same word in different parts of the world.
  • The word that an entry is about has a homophone.

If the entry needs to have any of these sections, add them in this order at the beginning of the entry:

===Other spellings===
* <other spelling here>

===Pronunciation===
* <pronunciation here>
* <audio file here>
* <hyphenation here>

====Homnophones====
* <homophone here>
  • For an example of a completed entry, using everything learned in this guide, please see these entries: fog, acid

Hope this guide helps in your endeavor to write entries here!