A Compendious Syriac Dictionary

Rating:
Summary: Highly useful
Review: This is THE dictionary for classical Syriac texts, for both the eastern and western dialect. I used it during my studies and I very seldom run into a word I couldn't find in the dictionary. The translations are clear and concise. Contextual information is usually given to differentiate between possible translations.

Verb entries are in the past tense only, which is common among scholars but not very useful when actually searching for a word. But you will find it a great help that verb forms other than the PAEL are often listed with a one word translation and a reference to the PAEL entry.

Etymological information is limited to derivatives of verbs. Loanwords are marked as such and in the case of Greek loanwords the original word is printed. There is almost no reference to the other semitic languages.