- Before I came here I didn’t use goat-felching. Now I use it on every occassion I can.
- Rarely, unless it’s something highly technical that I’m new to.
- Context.
- Not consciously, though I used to read dictionaries and encyclopedias for the fun of it.
- Somewhat.
- Read, read, read!
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Depends a lot on what I happen to be reading at the moment. I’d estimate, on average, overall, 1 per week to 1 per month.
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I’m a big looker-upper. If I’m reading a good, challenging book, I use a piece of scratch paper for a bookmark and jot down the words I don’t know and the page number I found it on. Then when I’m near a dictionary I look them all up in a big orgy. It’s amusing to see how different the definitions are than what I have guessed from context. Another good way to guess words is by breaking them down into root words. When you look up a word, look at its entymology, as well. A little Greek and Latin can go a long way!
A lot of people seem to think they know what a word means, but really they’re just making some hazy guess at it. If you’re a little bit uncertain, you often have a lot to gain by looking it up and reading the definition.
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I think of it as an ongoing project. So many wonderful words . . . so little time.
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I’ve had to look up many words that I read first on the SDMB, and I’ve also seen some words defined here that I’ve never heard of ( though RARELY is this when somebody trots out a dictionary definition to try to score points in a debate. :rolleyes: ) Great Debates definitely Increases Your Word Power. GQ, too.
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I’ve never found reading the dictionary to be very useful. It just overloads my memory and it’s hard for me to retain words that I try to learn that way. I have an easier time remembering words in the context of sentences, which is why I make sure to write down the page number when I put a word on my To Look Up list. And then if I happen to stumble across the same word in an entirely different place in the next month or so, it really cements it in my memory. That happens much more than you’d think! I find it amazing that I can go for nearly thirty years without every noticing a certain word, and then once I’ve learned it, suddenly it pops up in three or four different places within a couple of weeks.
So I second the suggestions of other folks: read! Most importantly, seek out reading material that is a challenge. If you only ever read books that are easy for you and you never have to stop to look up a new word, well, you’re not going to increase your vocabulary by much. You have to find books that make you do a little work. With some writers, I have to look up five words in the first chapter, and I know that even if the book itself sucks, I’m at least going to learn lots of new words. And, of course, there are many books that are fun to read and chock-a-block with good vocabulary. And don’t be book-o-centric–good periodicals work, too: The New York Times, The Economist . . . and there was an awesome article on Einstein and Goedel in Discover a few months back that taught me no less than five new words . . . in a three-page article! Fantastic!
It’s harder to learn from spoken word, because you don’t get to see the spelling, but that works, too. Last night I learned the verb “to individuate” on Witchblade. Obviously, I could guess what it meant, but until I looked it up I wasn’t too sure it was actually a real word. 
I also subscribe to A.Word.A.Day Home Page : Word of the day, vocabulary, wordpower, words, language, quote, quotes, quotation, quotations, english, dictionary, lexicon, logophile, wordsmith, vocabulaire, vocabulario
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Depends on what I’m reading. Generally, I don’t have trouble, but with more specialized things, I have much more trouble. So whenever I’m reading a science textbook or something like that, I’ll have trouble every few minutes. But normally, it’s maybe once or twice a month.
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Sometimes I look it up…ingrained habit from my childhood (my mom would never tell me how to spell anything, she made me look it up in the dictionary. I showed her by memorizing all the words I used!). Otherwise, I just skip over it if it won’t throw me off.
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As I’m still in school, I don’t think I quite qualify to answer this question, but I did sign up for a list that sends me a word and its definition everyday. Rather amusing, even if I already knew half the words they send me.
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Yes
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I picked up most of my vocabulary from reading books. As I never really sat down and tried to improve my vocabulary, I can’t really give any suggestions beyond reading more.
jessica
Another vote for tracking words in books I am reading, then looking them up when I want. If I am in bed (or on a train, or whatever) I am not interested in being dictionary-boy at that moment - even if I am the WordMan!
If the book is a paperback, I just underline the word on the page, but a check mark in the margin of that page, then note the page number and the word on the inside front cover of the book. - that way, I can note the definition next to the word when I do look it up.
I can’t get through a Nabokov novel without doing this, and a few others, too…
Sorry to be a stickler Podkayne, but I just noticed that I have to razz you about a classic word mistake:
etymology is the study of word origins
entomology is the study of insects
so I gues entymology is the study of insect words??
It was an entomological typo! A gnat landed on the “n” key! I swear!
Just chiming in to say this has still got me chuckling.
As to the OP, pretty much what everybody else is saying: Rarely, Context, Not really, Some, and Read a lot.
Thanks for all the responses.
Funny you should mention Nabokov, WordMan since I’m reading Lolita at the moment. In fact, you can probably blame Nabokov for inspiring this thread. I’m amazed at the man’s vocabulary, especially considering that English was not his first language.
The dictionary and I have become close friends in the last week. I’m using Podkayne’s method of writing difficult words on a bookmark (although I hadn’t thought of including the page number – excellent idea) so I can look them up later at my leisure. I tried looking up each word the moment I encountered it, but running to the dictionary every thirty seconds interrupts the flow of the novel and saps all my enjoyment out of reading.