Dr. Hassan Hameed launches major English-Dhivehi dictionary

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom officially launched a major English-Dhivehi dictionary authored by Dr. Hassan Hameed at a ceremony held at the Maldives National University. The dictionary, which took eight years to compile, contains 120,000 words and spans 1,192 pages.

Dr. Hameed, a scholar and former Chancellor of the Maldives National University, developed the work by studying the origins of the Dhivehi language and referencing historical texts. To provide meanings for English words lacking direct Dhivehi equivalents, he utilized linguistic correspondences from Arabic, Sinhala, Urdu, and Japanese.

During the launch, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom described the work as an “invaluable contribution” and a “treasure” for the nation’s literature. Dr. Hameed emphasized the importance of linguistic preservation, advocating for the increased use of Dhivehi words over English terms in daily communication.