Reference Work

Definition: Reference Work

Reference Work

Noun

1. A book to which you can refer for authoritative facts; "he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic".

Specialty Definition: Reference work

A reference work is a compendium of information, usually of a specific type, compiled for ease of reference. That is, the information is intended to be quickly found when needed.

The writing style used in these works is informative; the authors avoid use of the first person, and emphasize facts. Indexes are commonly provided in many types of reference work. Most are updated as needed, typically with a new edition each year.

In libraries, these works are typically not allowed to be checked out.

Examples:

Almanac
Atlas
Citation index
Concordance
Dictionary
Directory or Lexicon (the latter generally provides more grammatical analysis)
Encyclopedia
Gazetteer
Handbook
Mathematical tables
Periodical index
Scientific tables
Thesaurus

Commercial Usage: Reference Work

Domain	Title
Books	Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary: An Authoritative One-Volume Reference Work on the Bible, With Full-Color Illustrations (reference) Categorically Speaking: A Reference Work and Study Guide for Realtime Writing (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Modern Translations: Reference Work

Language		Translations for "reference work"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Hungarian		segédkönyv (reference book), kézikönyv (companion, enchiridion, handbook, manual, reference book, textbook, user's manual, workbook). (various references)

Pig Latin		eferenceray orkway

Romanian		sursã bibliograficã. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Anagrams: Reference Work

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "c-e-e-e-e-f-k-n-o-r-r-r-w"
	-4 letters: conferrer, ferrocene, reenforce, reference.
	-5 letters: conferee, confrere, enforcer, fencerow, foreknew, reckoner.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.