Definition

Noun: A structured collection of linguistic data about words. A lexical database systematically stores information such as a word's spelling, pronunciation, definitions, grammatical roles, and its relationships to other words (like synonyms, antonyms, or hyponyms). It is a fundamental resource for computational linguistics, natural language processing, and lexicography.

Usage

A "lexical database" is used as a singular, countable noun. It refers to a specific electronic or digital resource. * Researchers use a lexical database to study semantic networks. * The development of a comprehensive lexical database is crucial for machine translation. * WordNet is a well-known lexical database for the English language.

Advanced Usage

• Domain-specific lexical database: A lexical database focused on the terminology of a particular field, such as medicine or law.
  • The project requires a specialized lexical database of biochemical terms.
• To query a lexical database: To search or request information from the database.
  • The software can query the lexical database to find all hyponyms of "vehicle".

Variants and Related Words

• Lexicon (n): The vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge. While a "lexicon" can be a simple list, a "lexical database" implies a structured, computable format.
• Dictionary (n): A reference work containing words and their definitions. A traditional dictionary is for human use, while a lexical database is structured for computational access and analysis.
• Thesaurus (n): A reference work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning. A thesaurus is a type of lexical resource that informs the structure of a lexical database.

Synonyms

• Word repository
• Linguistic database
• Electronic lexicon

Related Phrases

• Lexical resource: A broader term encompassing any source of word information, including printed dictionaries, thesauri, and lexical databases.
  • WordNet is an invaluable lexical resource for NLP applications.

Noun

1. a database of information about words