Definition of lexicographer
: an author or editor of a dictionary
Read the Latest from M-W
lexicographer was our Word of the Day on 05/28/2011. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Recent Examples of lexicographer from the Web
-
There are dozens of editors who work as lexicographers on the OED, but only a few in the US office.
-
The compiling of dictionaries may seem a quiet topic, but this memoiristic account of the lexicographer’s art, by an editor at Merriam-Webster, is an unlikely page-turner.
-
Tracing the patterns of these influences is the job of the historical lexicographer.
-
Kory Stamper, a lexicographer here, is very much part of the vanguard of word-nerd celebrities.
-
Lexicographers don't like to deal with dirty words.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lexicographer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Today, we're looking at a word that is dear to our hearts: lexicographer. The ancient Greeks were some of the earliest makers of dictionaries; they used them mainly to catalog obsolete terms from their rich literary past. To create a word for writers of dictionaries, the Greeks sensibly attached the suffix -graphos, meaning "writer," to lexikon, meaning "dictionary," to form lexikographos, the direct ancestor of the English word lexicographer. Lexikon, which itself descends from Greek lexis (meaning "word" or "speech"), also gave us lexicon, which can mean either "dictionary" or "the vocabulary of a language, speaker, or subject."
Origin and Etymology of lexicographer
Late Greek lexikographos, from lexikon + Greek -graphos writer, from graphein to write
Learn More about lexicographer
-
See words that rhyme with lexicographer Spanish Central: Translation of lexicographer Nglish: Translation of lexicographer for Spanish speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up lexicographer? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!