Understanding Dictionary Order for Words

Arranging words in the order they appear in an English dictionary is a common task that requires careful comparison of letters from left to right. This process is also known as alphabetical order.

We are given the following words:

1. Lesage
2. Laudatory
3. Laureate
4. Latitude
5. Legacy
6. Laudanum
7. Launder

To find the correct dictionary order, we compare the words letter by letter, starting from the first letter.

Step-by-Step Alphabetical Sorting

Let's compare the words based on their letters:

• All words begin with the letter 'L'.
• Now, let's look at the second letter:
  • Lesage (1): 'e'
  • Laudatory (2): 'a'
  • Laureate (3): 'a'
  • Latitude (4): 'a'
  • Legacy (5): 'e'
  • Laudanum (6): 'a'
  • Launder (7): 'a'

'a' comes before 'e' in the alphabet. So, the words starting with 'La' will come before the words starting with 'Le'.

Words starting with 'La': 2, 3, 4, 6, 7

Words starting with 'Le': 1, 5

Ordering the 'La' Words (2, 3, 4, 6, 7)

Let's look at the third letter for these words:

• Laudatory (2): 'u'
• Laureate (3): 'u'
• Latitude (4): 't'
• Laudanum (6): 'u'
• Launder (7): 'u'

't' comes before 'u'. So, word 4 (Latitude) comes first in this group.

Now, let's order the words starting with 'Lau' (2, 3, 6, 7) based on the fourth letter:

• Laudatory (2): 'd'
• Laureate (3): 'r'
• Laudanum (6): 'd'
• Launder (7): 'n'

Comparing 'd', 'r', 'n': 'd' comes first, then 'n', then 'r'.

Let's order the words starting with 'Laud' (2, 6) based on the fifth letter:

• Laudanum (6): 'a'
• Laudatory (2): 't'

'a' comes before 't'. So, word 6 (Laudanum) comes before word 2 (Laudatory).

Current order for 'Laud' words: 6, 2.

Word 7 (Launder - Laun) comes next as 'n' follows 'd'.

Word 3 (Laureate - Laur) comes last in the 'Lau' group as 'r' follows 'n'.

Order of 'Lau' words: 6, 2, 7, 3.

Combining the 'Lat' word (4) and 'Lau' words (6, 2, 7, 3):

Order of 'La' words: 4, 6, 2, 7, 3.

Ordering the 'Le' Words (1, 5)

Let's look at the third letter for these words:

• Lesage (1): 's'
• Legacy (5): 'g'

'g' comes before 's'. So, word 5 (Legacy) comes before word 1 (Lesage).

Order of 'Le' words: 5, 1.

Combining the Groups

'La' words come before 'Le' words. So, we put the 'La' group order first, followed by the 'Le' group order.

Final dictionary order of the word numbers:

4, 6, 2, 7, 3, 5, 1

Combining the ordered 'La' words (4, 6, 2, 7, 3) and 'Le' words (5, 1) gives the sequence 4, 6, 2, 7, 3, 5, 1.

Revision Table: Dictionary Order

Reviewing the key steps for arranging words alphabetically:

• Compare words letter by letter from the beginning.
• If letters are the same, move to the next letter.
• The word with the letter that comes earlier in the alphabet is placed first.
• If one word is a prefix of another (e.g., 'cat' and 'catalog'), the shorter word comes first. (Not applicable in this question).

Additional Information: Mastering Alphabetical Sorting

Understanding dictionary order is fundamental for using dictionaries, indexes, and other reference materials efficiently. It's also a common type of question in verbal ability and reasoning tests. Practice with different sets of words helps improve speed and accuracy in alphabetical sorting.