Lexicons Ontario
Use Lexicons Ontario to find specialized terms used by and associated with specific ministries and within the Ontario Public Service. Lexicons are created, maintained and updated by their relevant ministries to support translators, researchers, communicators, policy makers, and anyone looking for more information about terminology used by the Ontario Public Service.
You can use the Lexicons Ontario database to search for a specific term, or consult ministry-specific lexicons to find terms that are commonly used and associated with a ministry.
These lexicons are for reference only. When translating for a ministry and within the Ontario Public Service, please support your translation with other resources and research.
Searching the Lexicons Ontario database
Lexicons can be found in the Lexicons Ontario database when available. They can also be found in individual ministry-specific lexicons.
Search for specific terms in the Lexicons Ontario database:
- select “TermBase” to switch between databases
Search the Lexicons Ontario database
Searching ministry-specific lexicons
Find common terms used by or associated with a ministry in a ministry-specific lexicon:
- child and youth services
- education, colleges and universities
- emergency management
- environment and energy
- health sector:
- justice sector:
- labour
Find common and specialized terms used within the Ontario Public Service:
- commonly used abbreviated forms and titles of Ontario Public Service directives, operating policies and guidelines
- language used in government websites, job ads, news releases and signage
- language used in key government documents, such as ministry accessibility plans, expenditure estimates and estimates briefing books
When using and referencing ministry-specific lexicons, please note that French equivalents appear in alphabetical order, not in order of preference. French feminine forms for occupational titles and adjectives appear right after the masculine form of the title. When feminine and masculine forms are the same, only one form is listed.
Common symbols
These symbols are commonly used to indicate grammatical information, context and definitions in English-French lexicons:
| Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
| m. | masculine |
| f. | feminine |
| m./f. | masculine or feminine |
| pl. | plural |
| { } | Text appearing in brackets indicates use, the grammatical category, the field, the context or further information regarding the meaning of the entry |
| ( ) | Information in these brackets indicates an abbreviation or acronym, or an optional element of a term |
Common abbreviations
These abbreviations are commonly used in English-French lexicons:
| English | Abbreviation | French |
|---|---|---|
| adjective | adj | adjectif |
| etcetera | etc | et cetera |
| feminine | f | féminin |
| general | gen | général |
masculine | m | masculin |
| noun | n | nom |
| thing | qqch | quelque chose |
| person | qqn | quelqu'un |