lexicon

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lexicon

/ˈlɛk.sɪ.kən/ UK
/ˈlɛk.sɪ.kɒn/ UK
/ˈlɛk.sɪ.kɑn/ US, dialectal
/ˈlɛk.sɪ.kən/ Canada, dialectal
/ˈlɛk.sɪ.kɒn/ Canada, dialectal
/ˈlek.sɪ.kən/ Australia
/ˈlek.sɪ.kɔn/ Australia
/ˈlek.sə.kən/ New Zealand
/ˈlek.sə.kɒn/ New Zealand
[ˈlek.sə.kɔ̟n] New Zealand

Where it comes from

Through Middle French or directly from New Latin lexicon, from Byzantine Greek λεξικόν (lexikón, “a lexicon, a dictionary”), ellipsis from Ancient Greek λεξικὸν βιβλίον (lexikòn biblíon, literally “a book of words”), from λεξικός (lexikós, “of words”), from λέξις (léxis, “a saying, speech, word”), from λέγω (légō, “to speak”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather, collect”).

Attested at least since 1583 (in William Fulke's A Defense of the Sincere and True Translations of the Holy Scriptures into the English tongue) in the sense 'a dictionary of a classical language'.

noun lexica · lexicons

The vocabulary of a language. Formalism seeks to correct this deficiency by translating verbal texts into formal, mathematizable lexicons which are then manipulated into general propositions.
A dictionary that includes or focuses on lexemes. Sluiter examines a tension inherent in such scholarly works as lexica, scholia, epitomai, and commentaries: although the very titles of these works claim no more than secondary status, their authors engage nonetheless in a rhetoric of self-legitimation.
A dictionary of Classical Greek, Hebrew, Latin, or Aramaic.
The lexicology of a programming language. (Usually called lexical structure.)
rare Any dictionary.
The vocabulary used by or known to an individual. (Also called lexical knowledge.)
A set of vocabulary specific to a certain subject. the baseball lexicon
A list thereof. a baseball lexicon

verb lexicons · lexiconing · lexiconed

transitive To add to a lexicon. Vocab-wise, medalling and PB-ing are now totally part-and-parcelled, and most experts in South Korea believe podiumed, finalled and all-comered are not far off lexiconing.
To shorten a soundtrack to fit a shortened version of a movie. Mrazek’s legislation would discourage time compression, a technique used to speed up a movie, and “lexiconing,” a process of altering the soundtrack to match the shorter, compressed version.

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