Architecture for providing and processing a dictionary in a universal format such as XML, for example. The dictionary can be authored while in the universal format, designated for use with multiple compatible applications, and compiled on-the-fly using a dictionary compiler. The dictionary can be shared and/or distributed via a web server, e-mail, and other suitable data transmission techniques. Once downloaded to the client application, the dictionary is registered with the requesting client application for use. With this model, the dictionary created by a user for a specific domain and for a specific application can be easily reused by other applications, and shared among the users belonging to the same domain.