This list includes notable historic, standardized and common-use dictionaries of the German language. The beginnings of German dictionaries date back to a series of glossaries from the 8th century CE.
The first comprehensive German dictionary, the Deutsches Wörterbuch (DWB), was begun by the Brothers Grimm in 1838.
The Duden dictionary, begun in 1880 and now in its 25th edition, is currently the prescriptive source for the spelling of Standard German.
The official dictionary for Austrian Standard German, the Österreichisches Wörterbuch (ÖWB), is published by the Austrian Federal Government.
Older German dictionaries
- The precursor German dictionaries were glossaries, of which the Abrogans from the 8th century is the oldest known.
- Petrus Dasypodius, Dictionarium Latinogermanicum, 1535
- Frisius (Johannes Fries, Dictionarium Latinogermanicum, 1541, 1556)
- Pictorius (Josua Maaler, Die Teütsch spraach, 1556)
- Adelung (Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart) by Johann Christoph Adelung, first edition 1781. The first major overall linguistic dictionary of the German language.
- Handwörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, a pocket dictionary by Johann Christian August Heyse, continued by his son Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Heyse, 1833–1849
- Deutsches Wörterbuch (also known as the Grimmsches Wörterbuch or DWB), by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm. The first comprehensive German dictionary developed on historical principles. Begun in 1838, first published in 1854, completed in 1961, supplemented 1971.
- Technologisches Wörterbuch of German, French and English and other languages by Johann Adam Beil, 1853. An early technical dictionary.
- Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache by Daniel Sanders (1860–1865)
- der Duden, the spelling dictionary of Konrad Duden, first edition 1880
- Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache von Friedrich Kluge, first edition 1883. Now in its 24th edition on CD-Rom by de Gruyter, 2002
- Deutsches Wörterbuch by Moritz Heyne, 1890–1895
Regional and multi-volume dialect dictionaries
The list contains the (more or less) "recent", regional and multi-volume dictionaries that have been compiled using "scholarly" principles.
- Badisches Wörterbuch [de] (1925ff.)
- Bayerisches Wörterbuch [de] (1995ff.)
- Brandenburg-Berlinisches Wörterbuch [de] (1968–2001)
- Frankfurter Wörterbuch [de] (1971–1985)
- Fränkisches Wörterbuch [de]
- Hamburgisches Wörterbuch [de] (1985–2006)
- Helgoländer Wörterbuch (1957ff.)
- Hessen-Nassauisches Wörterbuch [de] (1927ff.)
- Luxemburger Wörterbuch [de] (1954–1975)
- Mecklenburgisches Wörterbuch [de] (1937–1992)
- Mittelelbisches Wörterbuch [de] (2002ff.)
- Adam Wrede [Neuer Kölnischer Sprachschatz] (1981)
- Niedersächsisches Wörterbuch [de] (1953/65ff.)
- Nordfriesisches Wörterbuch [de]
- Nordsiebenbürgisch-Sächsisches Wörterbuch [de] (1968–2006)
- Oberharzer Wörterbuch [de]
- Pfälzisches Wörterbuch [de] (1965–1998)
- Pommersches Wörterbuch [de] (1997ff.)
- Preußisches Wörterbuch [de] (1981–2005)
- Rheinisches Wörterbuch [de] (1928–1971)
- Schlesisches Wörterbuch [de] (1963–1965)
- Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wörterbuch (1906, 1925/1927–1935)
- Schwäbisches Wörterbuch [de] (1901–1936)
- Schweizerisches Idiotikon (1881ff.)
- Siebenbürgisch-Sächsisches Wörterbuch [de] (1924–1931, 1971ff.)
- Sudetendeutsches Wörterbuch [de] (1988ff.)
- Südhessisches Wörterbuch [de] (1965/68–2010)
- Thüringisches Wörterbuch [de] (1966/99–2006)
- Vorarlbergisches Wörterbuch [de] (1960–1965)
- Westfälisches Wörterbuch [de] (1969ff.)
- Wörterbuch der bairischen Mundarten in Österreich [de] (1963ff.)
- Wörterbuch der Banater deutschen Mundarten [de] (2013ff.)
- Wörterbuch der deutsch-lothringischen Mundarten [de] (1909)
- Wörterbuch der donauschwäbischen Fachwortschätze [de] (1997–2005)
- Wörterbuch der elsässischen Mundarten [de] (1899–1907)
- Wörterbuch der obersächsischen Mundarten [de] (1978–2003)
- Wörterbuch der ungarndeutschen Mundarten [de]