lexicon
/ˈlɛk.sɪ.kɑn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.10 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The vocabulary of a language.
noun
A dictionary that includes or focuses on lexemes.
noun
A dictionary of Classical Greek, Hebrew, Latin, or Aramaic.
noun
The lexicology of a programming language. (Usually called lexical structure.)
noun
noun
The vocabulary used by or known to an individual. (Also called lexical knowledge.)
noun
A set of vocabulary specific to a certain subject.
noun
A set of vocabulary specific to a certain subject.
Example Sentences
- "Formalism seeks to correct this deficiency by translating verbal texts into formal, mathematizable lexicons which are then manipulated into general propositions."
- "Sluiter examines a tension inherent in such scholarly works as lexica, scholia, epitomai, and commentaries: although the very titles of these works claim no more than secondary status, their authors engage nonetheless in a rhetoric of self-legitimation."
- "the baseball lexicon"
- "Turns, twists, walks, runs, falls, and somersaults, along with many other movements, are the specific vocabularic elements which make up the lexicon of dance."
- "a baseball lexicon"
- "Vocab-wise, medalling and PB-ing are now totally part-and-parcelled, and most experts in South Korea believe podiumed, finalled and all-comered are not far off lexiconing."
Etymology
Through Middle French or directly from New Latin lexicon, from Byzantine Greek λεξικόν (lexikón, “a lexicon, a dictionary”), ellipsis from Ancient Greek λεξικὸν βιβλίον (lexikòn biblíon, literally “a book of words”), from λεξικός (lexikós, “of words”), from λέξις (léxis, “a saying, speech, word”), from λέγω (légō, “to speak”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather, collect”). Attested at least since 1583 (in William Fulke's A Defense of the Sincere and True Translations of the Holy Scriptures into the English tongue) in the sense 'a dictionary of a classical language'.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *leǵ-, -, lexicon, λεξικόν
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlɛk.sɪ.kɑn/
- British English: /ˈlɛk.sɪ.kən/