Where does “lexicon” come from?
Lexicon derives from Latin lexicon, from Byzantine Greek λεξικόν, from Ancient Greek λεξικός, from λέξις meaning "word" or "speech," ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root leǵ-.
lexicon (English): The vocabulary of a language; A dictionary that...
Definitions
- The vocabulary of a language; A dictionary that...
Ancestry of “lexicon”, step by step
lexicon traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via New Latin lexicon
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Latin | lexicon | a dictionary, a lexicon |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | λεξικόν | lexicon, dictionary |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | λέξις | a saying, speech; word, phrase |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | λέγω | I put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |
via Medieval Latin lexicon
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medieval Latin | lexicon | — |