Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Of or relating to lexicography: Pertaining to the art, craft, process, or profession of writing, editing, or compiling dictionaries.

Usage

• The adjective "lexicographical" is used to describe anything connected with the principles, practices, or output of dictionary-making.
• It often modifies nouns like , , , , , , and .

Examples

• The entries are sorted in strict lexicographical order (i.e., alphabetical order as found in a dictionary).
• Her research has made a significant contribution to lexicographical theory.
• This is a major lexicographical undertaking that will take years to complete.
• The differences between the two editions are not just editorial but lexicographical in nature.

Advanced Usage

• Lexicographical order: A generalized alphabetical ordering used in computing and mathematics, where sequences (like strings of characters) are ordered based on the alphabetical order of their components.
  • In many programming languages, sorting a list of strings uses lexicographical order by default.
• Lexicographical information: Data specifically gathered or structured for use in a dictionary.
  • The corpus provides the raw lexicographical information needed to identify new word senses.

Variants and Related Words

• Lexicography (n): The art and science of dictionary-making.
  • He is a professor specializing in lexicography.
• Lexicographer (n): A person who writes, edits, or compiles dictionaries.
  • Samuel Johnson was a famous English lexicographer.
• Lexicographic (adj): A less common variant, synonymous with "lexicographical."

Synonyms

• Dictionary-related: Pertaining to dictionaries.
• Glossographical: Relating to the writing of glosses or commentaries (a more specialized, near-synonym).

Notes on Meaning

• The term is highly specific to the field of dictionary creation and study. It does not generally describe the content a dictionary (which is lexical or linguistic) but rather the methodology, process, or product of creating the dictionary itself.
• In computer science, "lexicographical" extends beyond human-language dictionaries to describe any ordering based on a defined sequence of symbols, analogous to alphabetical order.

Adjective

1. of or relating to lexicography