lexicon

American  

[lek-si-kon, -kuhn] / ˈlɛk sɪˌkɒn, -kən /

noun

plural

lexica, lexicons

1. a wordbook or dictionary, especially of Greek, Latin, or Hebrew.

   Synonyms:

   concordance, gloss, thesaurus, glossary

2. the vocabulary of a particular language, field, social class, person, etc.

3. inventory or record.

   unparalleled in the lexicon of human relations.

4. Linguistics.

   1. the total inventory of morphemes in a given language.

   2. the inventory of base morphemes plus their combinations with derivational morphemes.

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lexicon British  

/ ˈlɛksɪkən /

noun

1. a dictionary, esp one of an ancient language such as Greek or Hebrew

2. a list of terms relating to a particular subject

3. the vocabulary of a language or of an individual

4. linguistics the set of all the morphemes of a language

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Etymology

Origin of lexicon

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Modern Latin, from Medieval Greek, Greek lexikòn (biblíon) “word (book),” from lexikón neuter of adjective lexikós “of or pertaining to words” + biblíon “book”; lexis -ic; Bible ( def. )

Example Sentences

After “The Godfather” made him a movie star in his 40s, he remained a beloved character actor for half a century, adding “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” to the cultural lexicon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

On Friday, however, he made noise in a different sphere by placing an obscure financial term into the political lexicon: “Uninvestible.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026

The term quickly spread beyond the ranks of the police officers who coined it, with “Black Friday” entering the lexicon in the early 1960s.

From Barron's • Nov. 28, 2025

Anthropologist Peter W. Wood wrote about the origin of the term in the aftermath of those events, underscoring why a century-old concept had reentered the lexicon at that particular moment.

From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025

Charles reached over and hauled the lexicon towards him over the table and began to leaf through it.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt