vim-dict is a dict client. It uses curl to connect to dict servers, so make sure you have curl installed.

Place in ~/.vim/plugin/dict.vim or in case of Pathogen:

cd ~/.vim/bundle
git clone https://github.com/szw/vim-dict.git

Please, don't forget to star the repository if you like (and use) the plugin. This will let me know how many users it has and then how to proceed with further development :).

To lookup a word (or words) in the dictionary use Dict command:

:Dict hello
:Dict start up

The Dict command uses hosts and databases defined in the g:dict_hosts global list. By default it is set to [["dict.org", ["all"]]] (the format will be explained a bit later).

Dict command can use a word under the cursor. Just move the cursor to a word and type in the command line:

:Dict

The same works on selection - just select multiple words in the Visual mode.

The :Dict command will open a preview window. To close that window you may run :pc, or just hit q if the Dict window is the active one.

There are just a few global variables (options) you may set in the .vimrc file.

• g:dict_hosts

  The most important one is a list g:dict_hosts mentioned earlier. It combines hosts/databases used by vim-dict. The list entries are lists themselves and share the following format:

    ["host_name", ["database1", "database2", ...]]
  

  The sample extract from someone's ~/.vimrc file could look like this:

    let g:dict_hosts = [
        \["dict.org", ["all"]],
        \["dict.mova.org", ["slovnyk_en-pl", "slovnyk_pl-en"]]
    \]
  

  Moreover vim-dict can help you figure out what databases are available on your servers. There is a special command for this:

    :DictShowDb
  

  You can even open your .vimrc and provide some host urls only:

    let g:dict_hosts = [
        \["dict.org", []],
        \["dict.mova.org", []]
    \]
  

  Then save and reload .vimrc, perform DictShowDb and yank-paste the databases you want :).

  The list of DICT servers can be found on the Internet, e.g. here.

  If you have a local server with a dict deamon, you can use:

    let g:dict_hosts = [["localhost", ["*"]]]
  

• g:dict_leave_pw

  If set to 1 vim-dict leaves the preview window (the focus remains on the current window). By default it is set to 0.

  Example:

    let g:dict_leave_pw = 0
  

• g:dict_curl_command*

  This variable holds the curl command to be fired by Dict function. You will find it handy if curl is not on your $PATH environment variable. By default it is set to "curl".

  Example:

    let g:dict_curl_command = "curl"
  

• g:dict_curl_options*

  Sometimes you might want to add additional options to the curl invocation, e.g. additonal proxy settings. By default it defines only the connection timeout. Notice, the option -s (silent) is always present regardless of this variable.

  Example:

    let g:dict_curl_options = "--connect-timeout 30"
  

On Ubuntu you might want to add system dictionary to Vim:

set dictionary+=/usr/share/dict/words

This will enable the dictionary in the insert mode (CTRL-X CTRL-K). Additionaly it could be useful to add the dictionary to the standard word completions (CTRL-N...) for text and Markdown file types. To do this set the complete to include k value:

au FileType text,markdown setlocal complete+=k

Copyright © 2012 Szymon Wrozynski. Distributed under the same terms as Vim itself. See :help license