lexicon

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

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

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'.

In classic literature

Synonyms

vocabulary, mental lexicon

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

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