Cambridge

cambridge is a terminal version of Cambridge Dictionary, with its data from https://dictionary.cambridge.org

By default, it is English to English translation. For English to Chinese, add '-c' or '--chinese' option.

Supports looking up the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, with -w or --webster option. Webster has no foreign language translation in itself.

Screenshots

Look up Cambridge Dictionary

Look up Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Why This

I'm a terminal person tired of pulling out a GUI app or browser, inputting words in the search bar, hitting the search button and then waiting for the result to render with a bunch of unnecessary static files coming along. Not only is the time taken long, but also switching apps back and forth can be annoying. So I wrote this console application with features to my satisfaction.

Highlights

camb <word/phrase> to look it up in Cambridge Dictionary by default
-w flag to fetch Merriam-Webster Dictionary
less than 2s taken to do all the work for the word, including fetching, parsing, printing, and writing cache
less than 0.1s for the same word's later search
only the first dictionary from Cambridge, avoiding confuses by multiple dictionaries
a list of word/phrase suggestions will be given, if not found
camb l to list words and phrases you've found before
color customized to black, white, blue, grey terminal backgrounds

`fzf`

With fzf installed, camb l | fzf --preview 'camb {}' will get you a taste of the fzf magic:

display the whole word list
fuzzy find a word from the word list & preview its meaning instantly
preview each word definition instantly as you scroll through the list
alias cambl="camb l | fzf --preview 'camb {}'" can be added in your bashrc for convenience

Installation & Uninstallation

pip install cambridge # install
pip uninstall cambridge && rm -rf $HOME/.cache/cambridge # uninstall and remove cache

Usages

Command s (hidden)

For looking up a dictionary. Flags can be put before or after <word/phrase>.

camb <word/phrase>                 # look up a word/phrase in Cambridge Dictionary
camb <word/phrase> -w              # look up a word/phrase in Merriam-Webster Dictionary
camb <word/phrase> -c              # look up a word/phrase in Cambridge with Chinese translation

camb <phrase with apostrophe "'">  # camb "a stone's throw" | camb a stone\'s throw
camb <phrase with slash "\">       # camb "have your/its moments" | camb have your\/its moments

camb <word/phrase> -v              # look up a word/phrase in verbose/debug mode
camb <word/phrase> -f              # look up a word/phrase afresh without using cache
camb <word/phrase> -n              # look up a word/phrase without showing spelling suggestions if not found

Command l

For listing and deletinng items in the cache.

camb l                             # list words/phrases found before in alphabetical order
camb l -t                          # list words/phrases found before in reverse chronological order
camb l -r                          # list 20 words/phrases from the word list randomly 
camb l -d                          # delete one or multiple words/phrases(separated by ", ") from the list

General options

camb -h, --help                    # show this help message and exit
camb -v, --version                 # print the current version of the program

migcosta/cambridge