These are the basic instructions to get you started. If you want to perform more powerful searches, also see the advanced page.
Enter a search string in either or both search string entry boxes. If you enter more than one search string, your searches are joined by boolean AND, meaning only words that match both search criteria are reported. If you enter a search string in one box but don't select any fields to search in, that search string is ignored.
Searching multiple fields for a given search string means the string must be found in all selected fields to result in a match. It does not mean the string will match if it is found in only one of the selected fields.
You may search for either whole words or parts of words. Use the word boundary metacharacter "<" to anchor your search strings on either edge. For example, "<vas" matches all words that begin with "vas"; "mek<" matches all words that end with "mek"; and "<vasfetmek<" matches exactly the word "vasfetmek".
Select the database field(s) you would like your search string to match. In most cases, you will select the morphological form(s) where you want to find a match. For example, a search for "tt" in the causative field will match "vasfettirir", which is the causative of "vasfetmek". The same search for "tt" in the aorist field will not match the aorist of "vasfetmek", which is "vasfeder".
Search for phonological alternations by searching for two strings in different morphological contexts . For example, one way to search for word-final "k" that is deleted in derived forms is to search for "k" in the citation field with the first search string while searching for "[^k]Vm" in the possessive field with the second search string. "[^k]" represents any character that is not "k".
You may use any of a number of metacharacters in your search strings. For example, "C" represents any consonant, and "V" represents any vowel. A "." represents any letter. "*" means "zero or more of the preceding item"; "+" means "one or more of the preceding item"; and "?" means "the preceding item is optional". For example, "<vas.*mek<" matches the word "vasfetmek" plus any other words that both begin with "vas" and end with "mek". For more information on metacharacters, see the advanced page.
Stress-sensitive searches may be accomplished by entering the symbol ' (apostrophe) after a vowel. For example, "a'r" finds all strings that match a stressed "a" followed by "r". Don't forget that "@" and ":" are used in representing vowels. You should place the stress marker after all vowel-related symbols. Searching for "i@'", "u:'" and "u@:'" will result in successful matches, but "i'@", "u':" and "u'@:" will not, as stress is marked in the wrong location.
If you do a stress-sensitive search, stress will be shown in the displayed results. Stress is not displayed in the results if none of your search strings contains a stress marker. No stress is ever shown in the lexeme field, and you cannot search for stress in that field. (NB: As of March 3, 1999, stress is erroneously reported in the lexeme field. We will remove it soon. In the meantime, don't believe the stress marking in that field.)
You may also search on the basis of syllable type (heavy or light). Any search string that contains only the letters "h" and/or "l" will automatically be interpreted as a syllable-sensitive search. For example, the string "hhh" finds a sequence of three heavy syllables. Do not attempt to combine a syllable-sensitive search with a segmental search in a single search string. Searching for "llt" with the intention of finding two light syllables followed by "t" will result in no matches, as this string is interpreted as a segmental search only.
You can combine a stress-sensitive search with the stress marker and the word-boundary metacharacter, so the string "h'll<" finds words ending with a stressed heavy syllable followed by two light syllables.
For searches that result in a large number of matches, only the first 100 matches are displayed. The total number of matches is always reported.