"old lady" meaning in English

See old lady in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: En-au-old lady.ogg [Australia] Forms: old ladies [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} old lady (plural old ladies)
  1. (literal, informal) An elderly woman. Tags: informal Synonyms: old woman Translations (informal: elderly woman): qarı (Azerbaijani), vanha rouva (english: respectfully) (Finnish), muija (Finnish), ämmä (english: less so) (Finnish), vanhempi naishenkilö (note: of a stranger) (Finnish), γριά (griá) [feminine] (Greek), vêgia [feminine] (Ligurian), അമ്മുമ്മ (ammumma) (Malayalam), stara (Polish), staruszka [feminine] (Polish), стару́ха (starúxa) [feminine] (Russian), стару́шка (starúška) [feminine] (Russian), ба́бушка (bábuška) [feminine] (Russian), tant (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-old_lady-en-noun-iJhx-JxC Disambiguation of 'informal: elderly woman': 89 1 3 7 0
  2. (slang) One's mother. Tags: slang Synonyms: mother Translations (one's mother): äitimuori (Finnish), γριά (griá) [feminine] (Greek), stara [feminine] (Polish), стару́ха (starúxa) [feminine] (Russian), мама́ша (mamáša) [feminine] (Russian)
    Sense id: en-old_lady-en-noun-mjNPNNZu Disambiguation of "one's mother": 1 90 9 0 0
  3. (slang, US) One's girlfriend, wife or significant other. Tags: US, slang Categories (topical): Female family members Synonyms: girlfriend, wife Translations (one's girlfriend, wife or significant other): 老婆 (lǎopo) (Chinese Mandarin), muija (Finnish), stara [feminine] (Polish), baba [feminine] (Polish)
    Sense id: en-old_lady-en-noun-5AMbtsIC Disambiguation of Female family members: 15 8 39 28 10 Categories (other): American English Disambiguation of "one's girlfriend, wife or significant other": 2 5 90 3 0
  4. (informal, UK) The Bank of England, sometimes referred to as the “Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” or simply “The Old Lady”. Tags: UK, informal Derived forms: Old Lady of Threadneedle Street Related terms: old man
    Sense id: en-old_lady-en-noun-ChyuoaB8 Categories (other): British English, English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 2 20 28 36 14
  5. (chess, slang) A queen. Tags: slang Categories (topical): Chess
    Sense id: en-old_lady-en-noun-7FGN1GWX Topics: board-games, chess, games

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for old lady meaning in English (8.0kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "old ladies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "old lady (plural old ladies)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old man"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The door was opened by a little old lady.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1946 March and April, R. A. H. Weight, “Euston to the North-West”, in Railway Magazine, page 71",
          "text": "A dear old lady said she thought the ancient castle at Conway most picturesque, but that it was a pity they put it so close to the railway!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2025 January 25, Cem Davis tells Nick Brodrick, “A warm 'Waterloo family' welcome”, in RAIL, number 975, page 40",
          "text": "\"Ninety per cent of our passengers will know where they are going. They'll come in and do the same journey every day. Therefore, I always base Waterloo not on the commuter, but on the little old lady who's lost in the middle of the station and just wants some help.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An elderly woman."
      ],
      "id": "en-old_lady-en-noun-iJhx-JxC",
      "links": [
        [
          "elderly",
          "elderly"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "literal",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(literal, informal) An elderly woman."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old woman"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "word": "qarı"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "english": "respectfully",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "word": "vanha rouva"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "word": "muija"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "english": "less so",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "word": "ämmä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "note": "of a stranger",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "word": "vanhempi naishenkilö"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "griá",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "γριά"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "lij",
          "lang": "Ligurian",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "vêgia"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "ml",
          "lang": "Malayalam",
          "roman": "ammumma",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "word": "അമ്മുമ്മ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "word": "stara"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "staruszka"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "starúxa",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "стару́ха"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "starúška",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "стару́шка"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "bábuška",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ба́бушка"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 1 3 7 0",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
          "word": "tant"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old man"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1985, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Back to the Future, spoken by Lorraine Baines (Lea Thompson)",
          "text": "I swiped it from the old lady's liquor cabinet.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "One's mother."
      ],
      "id": "en-old_lady-en-noun-mjNPNNZu",
      "links": [
        [
          "mother",
          "mother"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) One's mother."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "mother"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "1 90 9 0 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "one's mother",
          "word": "äitimuori"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 90 9 0 0",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "griá",
          "sense": "one's mother",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "γριά"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 90 9 0 0",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "one's mother",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "stara"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 90 9 0 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "starúxa",
          "sense": "one's mother",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "стару́ха"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 90 9 0 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "mamáša",
          "sense": "one's mother",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "мама́ша"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old man"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 8 39 28 10",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Female family members",
          "orig": "en:Female family members",
          "parents": [
            "Family members",
            "Female people",
            "Family",
            "Female",
            "People",
            "Gender",
            "Human",
            "Biology",
            "Psychology",
            "Sociology",
            "All topics",
            "Sciences",
            "Social sciences",
            "Fundamental",
            "Society"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968, Joan Didion, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”, in Slouching Towards Bethlehem",
          "text": "“[…] Now if that thing is balling—and your old lady or your old man is off somewhere flashing and doesn't want to be touched—well, you get put down on acid, you can be on a bummer for months.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1978, Lou Reed (lyrics and music), “Street Hassle”, in Street Hassle",
          "text": "But you know it could be a hassle / Trying to explain myself to a police officer / About how it was your old lady got herself stiffed",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "One's girlfriend, wife or significant other."
      ],
      "id": "en-old_lady-en-noun-5AMbtsIC",
      "links": [
        [
          "girlfriend",
          "girlfriend"
        ],
        [
          "wife",
          "wife"
        ],
        [
          "significant other",
          "significant other"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, US) One's girlfriend, wife or significant other."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "girlfriend"
        },
        {
          "word": "wife"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "slang"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 5 90 3 0",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "lǎopo",
          "sense": "one's girlfriend, wife or significant other",
          "word": "老婆"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 5 90 3 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "one's girlfriend, wife or significant other",
          "word": "muija"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 5 90 3 0",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "one's girlfriend, wife or significant other",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "stara"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 5 90 3 0",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "one's girlfriend, wife or significant other",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "baba"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 20 28 36 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "_dis1": "14 0 0 86 0",
          "word": "Old Lady of Threadneedle Street"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The Bank of England, sometimes referred to as the “Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” or simply “The Old Lady”."
      ],
      "id": "en-old_lady-en-noun-ChyuoaB8",
      "links": [
        [
          "Old Lady of Threadneedle Street",
          "Old Lady of Threadneedle Street"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, UK) The Bank of England, sometimes referred to as the “Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” or simply “The Old Lady”."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "14 0 0 86 0",
          "word": "old man"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "informal"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Chess",
          "orig": "en:Chess",
          "parents": [
            "Board games",
            "Tabletop games",
            "Games",
            "Recreation",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A queen."
      ],
      "id": "en-old_lady-en-noun-7FGN1GWX",
      "links": [
        [
          "chess",
          "chess"
        ],
        [
          "queen",
          "queen"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chess, slang) A queen."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "board-games",
        "chess",
        "games"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "audio": "En-au-old lady.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bc/En-au-old_lady.ogg/En-au-old_lady.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/En-au-old_lady.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
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      "text": "Audio (AU)"
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  "wikipedia": [
    "old lady"
  ],
  "word": "old lady"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "en:Female family members"
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  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Old Lady of Threadneedle Street"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "old ladies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "old lady (plural old ladies)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "old man"
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  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old man"
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      "categories": [
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        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The door was opened by a little old lady.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1946 March and April, R. A. H. Weight, “Euston to the North-West”, in Railway Magazine, page 71",
          "text": "A dear old lady said she thought the ancient castle at Conway most picturesque, but that it was a pity they put it so close to the railway!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2025 January 25, Cem Davis tells Nick Brodrick, “A warm 'Waterloo family' welcome”, in RAIL, number 975, page 40",
          "text": "\"Ninety per cent of our passengers will know where they are going. They'll come in and do the same journey every day. Therefore, I always base Waterloo not on the commuter, but on the little old lady who's lost in the middle of the station and just wants some help.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An elderly woman."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "elderly",
          "elderly"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "literal",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(literal, informal) An elderly woman."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old woman"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old man"
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      ],
      "categories": [
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1985, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Back to the Future, spoken by Lorraine Baines (Lea Thompson)",
          "text": "I swiped it from the old lady's liquor cabinet.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "One's mother."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "mother",
          "mother"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) One's mother."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "mother"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old man"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968, Joan Didion, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”, in Slouching Towards Bethlehem",
          "text": "“[…] Now if that thing is balling—and your old lady or your old man is off somewhere flashing and doesn't want to be touched—well, you get put down on acid, you can be on a bummer for months.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1978, Lou Reed (lyrics and music), “Street Hassle”, in Street Hassle",
          "text": "But you know it could be a hassle / Trying to explain myself to a police officer / About how it was your old lady got herself stiffed",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "One's girlfriend, wife or significant other."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "girlfriend",
          "girlfriend"
        ],
        [
          "wife",
          "wife"
        ],
        [
          "significant other",
          "significant other"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, US) One's girlfriend, wife or significant other."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "girlfriend"
        },
        {
          "word": "wife"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English informal terms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The Bank of England, sometimes referred to as the “Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” or simply “The Old Lady”."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Old Lady of Threadneedle Street",
          "Old Lady of Threadneedle Street"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, UK) The Bank of England, sometimes referred to as the “Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” or simply “The Old Lady”."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "informal"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang",
        "en:Chess"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A queen."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "chess",
          "chess"
        ],
        [
          "queen",
          "queen"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chess, slang) A queen."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "board-games",
        "chess",
        "games"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/En-au-old_lady.ogg",
      "tags": [
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "word": "qarı"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "english": "respectfully",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "word": "vanha rouva"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "word": "muija"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "english": "less so",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "word": "ämmä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "note": "of a stranger",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "word": "vanhempi naishenkilö"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "griá",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "γριά"
    },
    {
      "code": "lij",
      "lang": "Ligurian",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "vêgia"
    },
    {
      "code": "ml",
      "lang": "Malayalam",
      "roman": "ammumma",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "word": "അമ്മുമ്മ"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "word": "stara"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "staruszka"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "starúxa",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "стару́ха"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "starúška",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "стару́шка"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "bábuška",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ба́бушка"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "informal: elderly woman",
      "word": "tant"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "one's mother",
      "word": "äitimuori"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "griá",
      "sense": "one's mother",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "γριά"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "one's mother",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "stara"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "starúxa",
      "sense": "one's mother",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "стару́ха"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "mamáša",
      "sense": "one's mother",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "мама́ша"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "lǎopo",
      "sense": "one's girlfriend, wife or significant other",
      "word": "老婆"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "one's girlfriend, wife or significant other",
      "word": "muija"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "one's girlfriend, wife or significant other",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "stara"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "one's girlfriend, wife or significant other",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "baba"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "old lady"
  ],
  "word": "old lady"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.