# Look up a word

Look up a Latin or Greek headword (amo, arma, λόγος) in the stored analyses: its dictionary entries, the meanings it had in context, and example sentences with translations, citations, urls and licences.

Canonical: https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/docs/mcp/lookup_word

`tools/call lookup_word`

Accents, breathings and macrons are ignored (fio finds fīō). Covers the graded passages and the library sections readers have analysed, so a rare word may return nothing.

## Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `lemma` | string | Dictionary form of the word. Up to 60 characters. |
| `lang` | string | Optional. Defaults to Greek for Greek letters, otherwise Latin. One of `la`, `grc`. |
| `limit` | integer | Optional. Example sentences, at most 50. Default `10`. From 1 to 50. |

## Output

`structuredContent` has these fields, and `content` repeats the same JSON as one text item.

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `lemma` | string | The headword asked for. |
| `lang` | string | Language code: la (Latin) or grc (Ancient Greek). One of `la`, `grc`. |
| `entries` | array of object | Each headword spelling found, with the meanings it had in context. |
| `entries[].lemma` | string |  |
| `entries[].entry` | string or null |  |
| `entries[].upos` | string |  |
| `entries[].glosses` | array of string |  |
| `entries[].count` | integer |  |
| `occurrences` | array of object |  |
| `occurrences[].form` | string |  |
| `occurrences[].lemma` | string |  |
| `occurrences[].upos` | string |  |
| `occurrences[].feats` | string |  |
| `occurrences[].gloss` | string |  |
| `occurrences[].sentence` | string |  |
| `occurrences[].translation` | string |  |
| `occurrences[].citation` | string |  |
| `occurrences[].url` | string | Absolute URL. |
| `occurrences[].api` | string | Absolute URL. |
| `occurrences[].license` | string |  |
| `credits` | array of string | Credit lines for the editions quoted above. |
| `note` | string |  |

The same reads as [`GET /api/v1/words`](https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/docs/api/words.md), with the same shape.

## Example call

Arguments:

```json
{
  "lemma": "arma"
}
```

curl:

```sh
curl https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"lookup_word","arguments":{"lemma":"arma"}}}'
```

TypeScript:

```js
import { Client, StreamableHTTPClientTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/client"

const client = new Client({ name: "my-app", version: "1.0.0" })
await client.connect(new StreamableHTTPClientTransport(new URL("https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/mcp")))

const result = await client.callTool({ name: "lookup_word", arguments: { "lemma": "arma" } })
console.log(result.structuredContent)
```

## Example output

structuredContent:

```json
{
  "lemma": "arma",
  "lang": "la",
  "entries": [
    {
      "lemma": "arma",
      "entry": "arma, armōrum n. pl.",
      "upos": "NOUN",
      "glosses": [
        "arms",
        "the arms"
      ],
      "count": 2
    }
  ],
  "occurrences": [
    {
      "form": "Arma",
      "lemma": "arma",
      "upos": "NOUN",
      "feats": "Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Plur",
      "gloss": "arms",
      "sentence": "Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris\nItaliam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit\nlitora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto\nvi sup…",
      "translation": "I sing of arms and a man, who first, an exile by fate, came from the shores of Troy to Italy and the Lavinian shores, that man having been t…",
      "citation": "Virgil, Aeneid 1.1–11",
      "url": "https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/read/latin/virgil-aeneid",
      "api": "https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/api/v1/passages/latin/virgil-aeneid",
      "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
    },
    {
      "form": "arma",
      "lemma": "arma",
      "upos": "NOUN",
      "feats": "Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Plur",
      "gloss": "the arms",
      "sentence": "et Pompei Crassique potentia cito in Caesarem, Lepidi atque Antonii arma in Augustum cessere, qui cuncta discordiis civilibus fessa nomine p…",
      "translation": "And the power of Pompey and Crassus quickly passed to Caesar, and the arms of Lepidus and Antony passed to Augustus, who received all things…",
      "citation": "Tacitus, Annales 1.1",
      "url": "https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/read/latin/tacitus-annals",
      "api": "https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/api/v1/passages/latin/tacitus-annals",
      "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
    }
  ],
  "credits": [
    "Virgil, Aeneid 1.1–11. CC BY-SA 4.0. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University), PerseusDL/canonical-latinLit; edition: J. B. Greenough, Gin…",
    "Tacitus, Annales 1.1. CC BY-SA 4.0. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University), PerseusDL/canonical-latinLit; edition: C. D. Fisher, Oxford…"
  ],
  "note": "From stored analyses only: the graded passages and the library sections readers have opened. Accents, breathings and macrons are ignored whe…"
}
```

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Previous: [Word-by-word analysis](https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/docs/mcp/get_analysis.md)
Next: [Context notes](https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/docs/mcp/get_context.md)