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Design & Construction: Construction Terminology

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Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

There are many dictionary-type sources of information in the construction field. To a certain extent, this information is duplicated from one source to the next. However, it is often the case that the term one seeks will show up in only one of the many possible sources on hand. It is conceivable that each of the following sources might be consulted at one time or another.

Architectural and Building Trades Dictionary, R.E. Putnam and G.E. Carlson. Chicago: American Technical Society, 1974. (TH9.P82 1974)

Builder's Comprehensive Dictionary, Robert Putnam. Reston, VA: Reston Pub. Co., 1984. (REF TH9.P83 1984)

Building Terminology, Peter Brett. Oxford: Heinemann Newnes, 1989. (REF TH145.B74 1989). British terminology.

Building Trades Dictionary, Leonard Toenjes. Homewood, IL: American Technical Publishers, 1989. (REF TH9.T585 1989)

Construction Dictionary. Phoenix: Greater Phoenix, Arizona Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction, 1973. (TH9.N3 1973)

Construction Glossary, J. Stewart Stein. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1980. (REF TH9.S78)

Construction Materials: Types, Uses, and Applications, Caleb Hornbostel. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1991. (REF TA403.H59 1991). Comprehensive descriptive information, including tabular data and metric equivalents.

Construction: Principles, Materials, and Methods, Harold Olin. Chicago: Institute of Financial Education, 1983. (REF TH151.O45 1983). Highly recommended.

Dictionary of Architectural Abbreviations. New York: Odyssey Press, 1965. (REF NA31.D554)

Dictionary of Architectural Science, Henry Cowan. New York: Halsted Press, 1973. (REF NA31.C874)

Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, 4th ed., Cyril Harris. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. (REF NA31.H32 2006). Very good, combining historical and technical information.

Dictionary of Building, Randall McMullan. New York: Nichols, 1988. (REF TH9.M36 1988)

Dictionary of Building, John Scott. London: Granada, 1984. (REF TH9.S427 1984)

Encyclopedia of Architecture: Design, Engineering, and Construction, Joseph Wilkes and Robert Packard. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1988. (REF NA31.E59 1988, 5 v.). Comprehensive encyclopedia of historical and technical issues.

Encyclopedia of Building and Construction Terms, Hugh Brooks. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983. (REF TH9.B76 1983)

Encyclopedia of Building Technology, Henry Cowan. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988. (REF TH9.E48 1988)

Handbook of Building Terms and Definitions, Herbert Waugh and Nelson Burbank. New York: Simmons-Boardman, 1954. (REF TH9.W354). Older terms, useful for historical applications.

Illustrated Dictionary of Building Materials and Techniques, Paul Bianchina. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1986. (REF TH9.B466 1986)

Illustrated Glossary of Architecture: 850-1830, John Harris and Jill Lever. London: Faber and Faber, 1966. (NA31.H314). Good for when you know what something looks like but not its name. Primarily for historical applications.

Means Illustrated Construction Dictionary, John Marchetti and Mary Greene. Kingston, MA: R.S.Means Co., 2000. (REF TH9.M4 2000)

The Modern Building Encyclopedia, N.W. Kay. New York: Philosophical Library, 1955. (REF NA31.M689). Good for earlier construction techniques.

A Visual Dictionary of Architecture, Frank Ching. New York: Van Nostrand, 1995. (REF NA31.C44 1995). Characteristic of Ching, clearly laid out and illustrated.

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Translators

Architecture: Building Construction - Urban Planning and Design: Pictorial Thesaurus and Dictionary. Dusseldorf: Werner-Verlag, 1996. (REF NA31.A817 1996). Languages included: English, German, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Slovakian.

Routledge German Dictionary of Construction. London:Routledge, 1997. German/English, English/German. (REF TH9.R687 1997)

Deutsch fur Baufachleute (German for Building Specialists), Wallnig und Evered. Wiesbaden: Bauverlag, 1979. (REF TH9.W34). Terms in German, English, French, and Spanish.

Dictionnaire Construction, J. R. Forbes. Paris: Lavoisier, 1988. (REF NA31.F67 1988). French-English, English-French.

Dizionario Tecnico Dell'Edilizia. Milano: Be-Ma Editrice, 1992. (REF TH9.N48 1992). Italian/English, English/Italian.

Elsevier's Dictionary of Building Construction, C.J. Van Mansum. New York: Elsevier, 1989. (Barker Library - REF TH9.E49). Terms in English, French, Dutch, and German.

English-Chinese Glossary of Terms in Housing, Urban Planning and Construction Management. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1987. (REF TH9.E54 1987)

International Dictionary of Building Construction, Angelo Cagnacci Schwicker. Milano: Hoepli, 1972. (REF TH9.C131). Terms in English, French, German, and Italian.

Nuevo Glosario: Diccionario Poliglota de la Arquitectura. Barcelona: Editores Tecnicos Asociados, 1976. (REF NA31.B37)

Worterbuch fur Architektur Hochbau und Baustoffe, Herbert Bucksch. Wiesbaden: Bauverlag, 1974. (REF NA31.B8). German-English, English-German.

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This page was last updated on 09/26/07