Definition

1. Noun:
   • A reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with information about them: A lexicon is a type of dictionary, often one that focuses on a specific language, field of study, or historical period.
   • A language user's knowledge of words: The lexicon refers to the complete set of words, vocabulary, or mental dictionary known to a person, group, or language as a whole.

Usage Examples

• Noun (as a reference book):

  • The scholar consulted a medieval Greek lexicon to understand the ancient text.
  • This specialized lexicon defines terms used in the field of linguistics.

• Noun (as vocabulary knowledge):

  • Children rapidly expand their lexicon during their early school years.
  • The technical lexicon of computer programming includes words like "algorithm" and "syntax."

Advanced Usage

• "Mental lexicon": Refers specifically to the internalized vocabulary stored in a person's mind.

  • Psycholinguists study how words are organized and retrieved from the mental lexicon.

• "Enter the lexicon": An idiom meaning to become a part of the common vocabulary.

  • The word "blog" entered the public lexicon in the late 1990s.

Variants and Related Words

• Lexical (adj): Pertaining to the words or vocabulary of a language.

  • "Run" has several lexical meanings, including "to move quickly" and "to manage."

• Lexicography (n): The art or profession of compiling dictionaries.

  • She studied lexicography to learn how to write dictionary definitions.

Synonyms

• Dictionary (for the reference book sense).
• Vocabulary (for the knowledge sense).
• Wordbook.
• Glossary (typically for a specialized, limited list of terms).

Related Phrases

• Lexical field: A set of semantically related words.

  • The lexical field of "emotions" includes words like joy, sadness, anger, and fear.

• Lexical item: A single word or a group of words that function as a single unit of meaning (e.g., "kick the bucket" meaning "to die").

  • "Once in a blue moon" is a lexical item meaning "very rarely."

Noun

1. a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with information about them
2. a language user's knowledge of words