lexical

adjective lex·i·cal \ ˈlek-si-kəl \

Definition of lexical

1 :of or relating to words or the vocabulary of a language as distinguished from its grammar and construction

Our language has many lexical borrowings from other languages.

2 :of or relating to a lexicon or to lexicography

lexical methods aim to list all the relevant forms
—A. F. Parker-Rhodes

—

lexicality

play \ˌlek-sə-ˈka-lə-tē\ noun

—

lexically

play \ˈlek-si-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See lexical defined for English-language learners

See lexical defined for kids

lexical was our Word of the Day on 02/28/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of lexical in a Sentence

a dictionary provides lexical information—it tells you what the word “cat” means, not all there is to know about cats

Recent Examples of lexical from the Web

Most of the videos are appended with searchable transcripts—a fun tool for those interested in lexical tics.

— anna wiener, The New Yorker, "Immersion Therapy in the Trump Archive," 16 Jan. 2017
WASHINGTON — What happens when 334 linguists, lexicographers, grammarians and etymologists gather in a stuffy lecture hall on a Friday night to debate the lexical trends of the year?

— jessica bennett, New York Times, "NYT Living Newsletter," 30 Jan. 2016
What happens when 334 linguists, lexicographers, grammarians and etymologists gather in a stuffy lecture hall on a Friday night to debate the lexical trends of the year?

— jessica bennett, New York Times, "NYT Living Newsletter," 30 Jan. 2016
Or emoji might be a lexical fad, here for now but gone as soon as this wave of digital natives hands control of the global village over to the next generation.

— nick stockton, WIRED, "Emoji—Trendy Slang or a Whole New Language?," 24 June 2015

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lexical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Wordy History of lexical

The word lexicon can be used as a synonym of dictionary, and the word lexicography refers to the practice of dictionary making. Both of these words, as well as lexical, derive from the Greek word lexis, meaning "word" or "speech." A fourth descendant of lexis is lexiphanic, an archaic adjective describing one who uses pretentious words for effect. Lexis should not be confused with the Latin lex, or "law," which is used in legal phrases such as lex non scripta, meaning "unwritten law."