Dictionary (as in wikitionary) plugin indication

Question

I'm looking for a dictionary (as in the wikitionary; not the data structure) plugin for vim.

One where I could put my cursor on pyrolysis, type a command such as :Dictionary and get something like:

noun, Chemistry.  
1.  
the subjection of organic compounds to very high temperatures.  
2.  
the resulting decomposition.

I have found this dictionary.vim, but it provides no detailed instructions on how to install it.

Answer 1

Put your cursor on a word then do...

:r http://services.aonaware.com/DictService/DictService.asmx/De‌​fine?word=<cword> | %s/<\_.\{-}>//g | %s/^M//g

You'll want to do a little bit more sophisticated post-processing to remove the XML. :)

I was just fooling around with this at first. It started as an exercise for myself to see how quickly I could come up with something.¹ But it actually, generally works and it demonstrates a couple less familiar features (netrw and <cword>) so I figured I'd post. A little better filtering and you could have something. Here's a sample using exactly the command above...

playful

  playful

    gcide
    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44

  Playful \Play"ful\, a.
Sportive; gamboling; frolicsome; indulging a sportive fancy;
humorous; merry; as, a playful child; a playful writer. --
{Play"ful*ly}, adv. -- {Play"ful*ness}, n.
[1913 Webster]


  playful

    wn
    WordNet (r) 2.0

  playful
 adj : full of fun and high spirits; "playful children sjust let
       loose from school" [ant: {unplayful}]

^{1. 15-20 minutes, most of which was spent searching for a free, simple, usable API.}

Answer 2

As the vim community did not have such a plugin I have then developed it.

It is available at:

https://github.com/fmv1992/vim_dictionary

Features

1. Works offline (downloads a dictionary during the install).
2. Is asynchronous: one instance of the plugin launches a server which serves all your vim instances (memory efficient).

3. Is simple: just one command is defined: :Dictionary. Usage:

   • Simple to install: make install.

   • Simple to use:

     :Dictionary rodent
     

     Yields:

     RODENT
     Ro"dent, a. Etym: [L. rodens, -entis, p. pr. of rodere to gnaw. See
     Rase, v. t., and cf. Rostrum.]
     
     1. Gnawing; biting; corroding; (Med.) applied to a destructive
     variety of cancer or ulcer.
     
     2. (Zoöl.)
     (a) Gnawing.
     (b) Of or pertaining to the Rodentia.
     
     RODENT
     Ro"dent, n. (Zoöl.)
     
     Defn: One of the Rodentia.
     

4. Has highlightings for ease of reading.

5. Has a battery of tests and is passing on TravisCI (therefore it meets a good coding standard).

Requirements

• vim8
• +channel feature
• python3 feature

Screencasting

Any feedback is appreciated. Made for the vim community.