lexicon

lex·i·con

noun \ˈlek-sə-ˌkän also -kən\

plural lex·i·ca \-kə\ or lexicons

Definition of LEXICON

1

: a book containing an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language and their definitions : dictionary

2

a : the vocabulary of a language, an individual speaker or group of speakers, or a subject

b : the total stock of morphemes in a language

3

: repertoire, inventory

Examples of LEXICON

1. a computer term that has entered the general lexicon
2. <an avid word enthusiast who is compiling a lexicon of archaic and unusual words>

Origin of LEXICON

Late Greek lexikon, from neuter of lexikos of words, from Greek lexis word, speech, from legein to say — more at legend

First Known Use: 1580

Related to LEXICON

Synonyms

dictionary, wordbook

Related Words

gloss, glossary, nomenclator, thesaurus, vocabulary

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

Rhymes with LEXICON

Abadan, Acheron, Ahriman, aileron, alençon, amazon, Amazon, amnion, and so on, antiphon, Aragon, autobahn, balmacaan, Bantustan, baryon, Basilan, bear down on, beat up on, betatron, biathlon, cabochon, call upon, calutron, carillon, carry-on, carry on, celadon, check up on, chorion, colophon, come upon, Culiacán, cyclotron, decagon, decathlon, demijohn, dine out on, early on, echelon, electron, elevon, enteron, epsilon, ethephon, etymon, fall back on, fermion, follow-on, Genghis Khan, get it on, go back on, going on, goings-on, gonfalon, Grand Teton, graviton, hanger-on, harijan, helicon, heptagon, hereupon, hexagon, hold out on, hopping John, Huascarán, hyperon, Isfahan, isochron, Kublai Khan, Kyrgyzstan, lay eyes on, Lebanon, leprechaun, liaison, Lipizzan, load up on, logion, looker-on, macédoine, marathon, Marathon, marzipan, mastodon, Mazatlán, Miquelon, miss out on, morion, move in on, myrmidon, nonagon, noumenon, nucleon, Oberon, octagon, off and on, omicron, Oregon, organon, ostracon, Pakistan, Palawan, pantheon, paragon, Parmesan, parmigiana, Parthenon, peloton, pentagon, pentathlon, Percheron, Phlegethon, Phocion, pick up on, polygon, positron, Procyon, put-upon, Rajasthan, Ramadan, ride herd on, run low on, run out on, run upon, set eyes on, set foot on, set upon, silicon, sneak up on, Süleyman, tachyon, Taiyuan, talkathon, telamon, telethon, thereupon, tie one on, triathlon, Tucumán, upsilon, virion, walkathon, walk out on, whereupon, woebegone, work upon, Yerevan, Xiangtan, Zahedan