das Nachschlagewerk
Translation
reference work, reference book, encyclopedia
Examples
Ein Lexikon ist ein Nachschlagewerk.
A lexicon is a reference work.
Ich suche das Wort in einem Nachschlagewerk.
I'm looking for the word in a reference book.
Grammar Patterns
to look up in ((sth.dat)) to look up in (a reference work) I'm looking the word up in a reference work.
Similar Words
das Lexikon (lexicon), das Wörterbuch (dictionary), die Enzyklopädie (encyclopedia)
Etymology
From 'nach' (after, about) + 'schlagen' (to hit, here: to look up) + 'Werk' (work). Literally a 'work for looking things up'.
Memory Tips
Imagine you 'hit' or 'strike' (schlagen) a book to look something up (nach). The result is this 'work' (Werk).