What does lexical mean?
Lexical is an adjective describing anything concerned with words, vocabulary, or the lexicon, a language's inventory of words and their meanings. It is especially common in discussions of translation, language teaching, grammar, and semantics. A lexical item is a word or another recognized unit of vocabulary, while lexical meaning refers to a word's conventional or dictionary sense. Linguists also distinguish lexical meaning from contextual meaning: the former is associated with the word itself, whereas the latter is determined by the situation, the surrounding words, and the speaker's intention. For example, a word may have one broad lexical meaning but convey something more specific in a particular conversation. The term is formal and technical, although it is also used more broadly when writers wish to emphasize precise wording. Understanding the distinction is useful in translation, argument analysis, and the study of ambiguity.
adjectiveRelating to words, vocabulary, or the lexicon. In semantics and pragmatics, it describes meaning that depends on a word's dictionary sense rather than the context in which it is used.
- Relating to the words or vocabulary of a language.
- Relating to the independent or dictionary sense of a word rather than its meaning within a particular context.
"The translator noted a subtle lexical difference between the two versions."
"Students learned several new lexical items in the lesson."
"The phrase has a broad lexical meaning but a more specific meaning in this context."
A lexical definition captures a word in the dictionary; a contextual definition explains it through the particular situation in which it appears.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of lexical
Lexical was formed in the early 19th century from lexicon with the suffix -al. The noun lexicon comes through Latin from Greek lexikon, a book of words, ultimately associated with Greek lexis, meaning word or phrase, and legein, meaning to gather or collect. The same root underlies lexicography and lexicographer.
Related word forms
How lexical is actually used
The word is most common in linguistics, semantics, language teaching, and translation. Its second sense is mainly used when contrasting a word's lexical meaning with contextual or pragmatic meaning.
Easily confused with lexical
Lexical is an adjective relating to words or vocabulary, whereas lexicon is a noun meaning a vocabulary or dictionary of words.