dict client for Debian
-----------------------

     The default configuration file is set up to have dict try to
access a dictd server on the local host, failing that, it will try a
public server at dict.org, on the Internet.  (You must be online to
access the public server; the dict client will not make a connection
automatically.)  In many cases this will be slow, especially when it
is trying to access a non-existent public server first, so you should
comment out the line for the server that you don't want to use. To use
any other server, enter its URL or IP address in place of "dict.org".

     By default, the `dict' client returns all definitions found in
all databases available to the server, in the order that the
dictionaries are listed in the server's configuration file.  The
systems default PAGER is used to display the results.  Command line
switches are available for the client to restrict the searches to
certain dictionaries, to select among the several available search
strategies, and to use different pagers.  See the manual page, dict(1),
for all command line options.

     The DICT Group maintains a number of public servers, which are
accessed in round-robin fashion by the address dict.org, so delays due
to busy servers should be minimized.  

     The public servers do not require any userid, password, or other
authentication.  A private server, such as one on your own or a
nearby network may require authentication.  See the manpage, `man dict',
or the sample configuration file, in /etc/usr/share/doc/dict/examples.

     dict will return definitions encoded in whatever character set
the the dictionary uses.  If your dictionaries are encoded in utf-8
and your pager doesn't display utf-8 properly, you should consider
using /usr/bin/dictl.  Refer to the manual page dictl(1). 
