How to access macOS dictionaries without Dictionary.app

Question

In Mac-OS Catilina, how can I convert the included dictionaries (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary etc.) into a format readable without requiring Dictionary.app?

Answer 1

Apple's Dictionaries are compiled data structures, and Apple publishes no documentation on the format.

This blog provides a detailed description of reverse-engineering Apple's dictionaries.

https://josephg.com/blog/reverse-engineering-apple-dictionaries/

(I know it's customary to provide an account of the link, but it's a very detailed and complex process.)

There are of course a wide range of existing open source dictionaries.