Nødvendigt, tilstrækkeligt, typisk? – nogle tanker om definitionspraksis

This paper deals with the general issue of writing good definitions,taking a specific starting point in the principles formulated in thestyle guide of The Danish Dictionary. After a brief historical surveyof definitional practice in selected Danish dictionaries, the paperconcentrates partly on the principles and problems of the classicaldictionary definition, partly on descriptions of the function and useof words and phrases. Giving their personal view on good and baddefinitions based on ideas of prototypicality rather than exhaustivenessand completeness, the authors end by raising the issue of differentdefinitions for different users, drawing on results from a usersurvey of the online version of The Danish Dictionary