The Intercontinental Dictionary Series (IDS) is a database where lexical material across the languages of the world is organized in such a way that comparisons can be made. Historical and comparative studies and theoretical linguistic research can be based on this documentation. The IDS was conceived of by Mary Ritchie Key (University of California, Irvine) in the 1980s as a long-term cooperative project that will go on for the next generation or so and will involve linguists all over the world. It is aimed towards international understanding and cooperation.

The IDS has dictionaries for these languages (listed at Language):