CLI tool for English word lookup: definition, synonyms, etymology, and optional translation into other languages. No API keys required.
Requires Go 1.25+.
go install github.com/bk-bf/lexify@latestThe binary lands in $GOPATH/bin (typically ~/go/bin) — ensure that is on your $PATH.
Build from source
git clone https://github.com/bk-bf/lexify.git
cd lexify
go build -o lexify .lexify <word>
lexify <word> <lang> [lang ...]
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
-i <lang> [lang …] | Install offline pack(s) for the given language(s) |
--kaikki | Pack source: kaikki.org JSONL (~200–500 MB, ~2 min) — default |
--wiki | Pack source: en.wiktionary.org XML dump (~1.2 GB, ~10 min) |
--force | Reinstall even if pack is already up to date |
-o | Force live API (skip installed pack) |
-d | Show per-fetch debug timing |
--force-ety | Use GTX~ as etymology fallback when pack/wiki miss (off by default) |
Pass any BCP-47 language code as <lang>:
frrudeesitptjazhkoarnlplsvtrukhi …
Unrecognised language codes are dropped with an inline warning; output falls back to English.
# English only
lexify serendipity
# With translation (definition, synonyms, etymology rendered in French)
lexify serendipity fr
# Multiple target languages
lexify serendipity fr ru
# Non-English source word — auto-detected, resolved via English Wiktionary
lexify Schadenfreude
# Install multiple packs at once
lexify -i en de fr
# Force live API even when a pack is installed
lexify serendipity -oPacks are installed per-language into ~/.local/share/lexify/ as a binary-search index (<lang>.idx + <lang>.dat).
lexify -i en # install English pack (~2 min from kaikki.org)
lexify -i en --wiki # same, from Wiktionary XML dump (~10 min)
lexify -i de # install German pack
lexify -i de fr es # install multiple packs at onceBy default the tool uses the installed pack automatically when one is present. Pass -o to force live API calls instead.
If the word is not found in the pack the tool falls back to the APIs and marks this in output with ⚠ pack miss → api.
Native-edition packs — for de es fr it ja ko nl pl pt ru tr zh, kaikki.org provides a native-language wiktionary edition. These packs contain definitions and etymologies already in the target language, so no translation round-trip is needed for those sections.
When a target-language pack is installed and is not a native edition, synonym lookups are served from the pack; definitions and etymology are fetched from the target-language Wiktionary API.
| Section | Source |
|---|---|
| Definition (EN) | Offline pack — or — dictionaryapi.dev |
| Synonyms (EN) | Offline pack — or — dictionaryapi.dev (inline) |
| Etymology (EN) | Offline pack — or — en.wiktionary.org action=query |
| Definitions + etymology (target lang) | Native-edition pack — or — target-lang Wiktionary API |
| Synonyms (target lang) | Installed pack — or — target-lang Wiktionary API |
| Translation (word) | Google Translate gtx endpoint; MyMemory fallback |
| Translation (definition, etymology text) | Google Translate gtx endpoint |
All packs are built from kaikki.org or the Wiktionary XML dump.
Concurrency — Phase 1 fires goroutines for EN resolution (pack or API) and all word translations simultaneously. Phase 2 fans out immediately on Phase 1 results: per-language pack lookups, Wiktionary fetches, and text translations run without a second barrier. Use -d to see per-task timing split by phase.
Wiktionary parsing — Uses a single action=query API call to fetch full page wikitext, then extracts the relevant section client-side. Wikitext templates ({{m}}, {{der}}, {{bor}}, {{suffix}}, {{w}}, …) are resolved before display.
Multilingual synonyms — Section headings matched with a single regex covering Synonyms, Synonymes, Synonyme, Синонимы, Sinónimos, 同義語, 동의어, مرادف, and others.
Unicode — String widths and substring operations use rune slices throughout, so Cyrillic, CJK, Arabic, and other scripts wrap correctly.
Non-EN source words — If a word returns no definition, the tool translates it to English via GTX and retries the lookup in English (pack or API). The header shows <original> → <translated> when this path is taken.