# Anyone know of an open source licensed list of dictionary words? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2022, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475 "2022-07-24T10:15:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/1 "2022-07-24T10:15:26Z")
I’m working on a little personal coding project, and I need a list of dictionary words. I’m planning to publish the end result as an open source package, and the code will include (a subset of) said list - so I’d like to find a list of words that is itself published under an open source license. I’ve found various “dictionary files” online, but none that come with an open source license. Also, many of them contain what I consider to be nonsense words, abbreviations, proper nouns, things like “zzzzz” etc. I’m looking for a list of common words that would reasonably appear in a dictionary. Any suggestions welcome. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/2 "2022-07-24T10:23:07Z")
Wiktionary offers various [word lists](https://simple.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Word_lists) for different purposes, and its [licensing policy](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Copyrights) is a dual-license combining Creative Commons and Gnu Free Documentation. Essentially, you can use Wiktionary material but have to acknowledge so, and include a copy of the license texts. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/3 "2022-07-24T11:10:21Z")
[GNU aspell](http://aspell.net/) comes with a dictionaries in various languages. It’s developed by GNU, who should know what open source is. ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/4 "2022-07-24T18:14:23Z")
Thank you @Schnitte and @Terminus_Est. > [@Schnitte](#): > > Wiktionary offers various [word lists](https://simple.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Word_lists) for different purposes, and its [licensing policy](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Copyrights) is a dual-license combining Creative Commons and Gnu Free Documentation. Essentially, you can use Wiktionary material but have to acknowledge so, and include a copy of the license texts. I’ve had a look at this. The license seems to assume that you are going to republish the word lists as documents, rather than incorporate them into software. I’ll have another look / see if I can contact someone at Wicktionary to check my use case is acceptable under the license. I’d have to find a way to scrape the words themselves from the webpage, but that won’t be too hard, assuming it’s acceptable. (I couldn’t find an option to download them in a text-based format, which is what I need). > [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > [GNU aspell](http://aspell.net/) comes with a dictionaries in various languages. It’s developed by GNU, who should know what open source is. This sounds promising. The URL above includes a link to the [dictionaries](https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/aspell/dict/0index.html) page and then to the [English dictionary](https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/aspell/dict/en/), which is a compressed folder. I confess that upon downloading and uncompressing, I was hoping to find a file (text, JSON, XML etc) that I could easily consume, but I think I need to build it first. I’ve never played with `make` before, and I’m out of my depth, but I’ll have a play and see what happens. Worst case, I need a new computer anyway 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/5 "2022-07-24T19:03:15Z")
For what it’s worth, here’s a Scrabble word list with about 178,000 words: [https://www.wordgamedictionary.com/twl06/download/twl06.txt](https://www.wordgamedictionary.com/twl06/download/twl06.txt) Possibly the licensing info you need is stated here: [Developer Center - Word Game Dictionary](https://www.wordgamedictionary.com/api/) > Free API Usage > > Our API is free for anyone to use as long as it is for non-commercial use only and will not exceed more than 100 calls per 24 hours. > > Our free version only provides > > ``` > Word Verification from the Scrabble Dictionary > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/6 "2022-07-25T01:00:45Z")
> [@TwoCarrotSnowman](#): > > I’ve never played with `make` before, and I’m out of my depth Most properly setup package that you have to build, you just need to be in the right directory and type `make` This assumes you have the proper compilers already. If you’re on a \*nix system, you likely do. There may be a README file that tells you any specifics you need to know. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/7 "2022-07-25T01:57:23Z")
A simple list of words is not copyrightable, as it doesn’t meet the minimum bar for creative input. A license is irrelevant. If the list were hand-selected in some way, or presented as structured data, or it contained invented words, the situation might be different. But a comprehensive list of normal English words words in alphabetical or random order doesn’t get copyright protection. The official Scrabble word list is something of an edge case. Hasbro claims copyright, but the claim is fairly dubious (I don’t think it’s ever been tested in court, but Hasbro has sent cease-and-desist letters to alleged offenders). Still, if you stay away from that and similar lists, you’re perfectly safe. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/8 "2022-07-25T02:15:48Z")
You could crowd-source a list. I’ll start you off: dog theremin avalanche tomatillo ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/9 "2022-07-25T04:14:11Z")
Would the dictionary in usr/dict/words (or similar path) in \*nix type environments (including MacOS) suffice? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/10 "2022-07-25T05:00:59Z")
Here’s the Moby Project list of words: > **[GitHub - Hyneman/moby-project: Mirror of the Moby Project containing...](https://github.com/Hyneman/moby-project)** > > Mirror of the Moby Project containing public-domain lexical resources; word lists, thesaurus, hyphenation, pronunciation. - GitHub - Hyneman/moby-project: Mirror of the Moby Project containing publ... To grab it, click the green Code button in the top right, then click Download ZIP It’s Public Domain and, as we all know, Public Domain means never having to say you’re sorry: Its owners have officially given up all ownership in it, meaning anyone, anywhere can use it for any purpose, now and forever until the end of time, amen. ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-of-an-open-source-licensed-list-of-dictionary-words/968475/11 "2022-07-25T12:50:33Z")
Thank you all. I haven’t had a chance to go through the new replies in detail yet, but I will. I appreciate the help.