lexis

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Ancient Greek λέξις (lexis, “diction”, “word”), from λεγ- (leg-, “to speak”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛksəs
• (RP) enPR: lĕkʹsĭs, IPA: /ˈlɛksɪs/,X-SAMPA: /"lEksIs/

Noun

lexis (plural lexises or lexeis)

1. (linguistics) The set of all words and phrases in a language.
2. The vocabulary used by a writer

   In this broadsheet newspaper, the reporter uses a complicated and formal lexis which I find hard to understand sometimes.

References

Anagrams

• silex

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Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek λέξις (lexis)

Noun

lexis (genitive lexeōs); f, third declension

1. A word.

Declension

Irregular. Accusative plural lexeis.

Synonyms

• nōmen, verbum