What does lexis mean?
Lexis is a technical term for the total stock of words available to a person, community, language, profession, or text. It can describe both the general vocabulary of a speaker and the particular words chosen in a piece of writing or speech. A text's lexis may be formal, technical, regional, archaic, innovative, or otherwise distinctive, and studying it can reveal information about its subject, intended audience, and social setting. The word is especially common in linguistics, education, and discourse analysis, while vocabulary is more widely understood outside those fields. Lexis should not be confused with lexicon: a lexicon is often a systematic vocabulary or a reference book, whereas lexis more directly denotes the words used. Together with grammar, lexis forms a central part of the study of language use.
nounThe total stock of words used by an individual, a language, a community, or a specialized field. In linguistics, it may also refer to the vocabulary of a text or discourse rather than a dictionary.
- The total vocabulary of an individual, community, language, profession, or other group.
- The words and expressions used in a particular text, speech, or type of discourse.
"The study examines the lexis of popular television and how it reflects changing social attitudes."
"Children usually acquire a broad basic lexis before they master the more specialized vocabulary of school subjects."
"The author's dense lexis gives the essay an authoritative but deliberately difficult tone."
The plural is rare and chiefly occurs in specialist or academic writing; it should not be confused with the unrelated plural of lexicon.
"The researchers compared the lexes used by different social groups."
A lexicon may be a dictionary, but a lexis is everything a speaker can draw on to communicate.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lexis come from?
Lexis comes from the Greek noun lexis, meaning “word” or “phrase,” and ultimately from the verb legein, “to speak” or “to read.” The word entered English through scholarly and linguistic usage, especially in discussions of vocabulary and discourse. Latin developed the related forms lexicon and lexical, while modern languages have continued to use lexis in specialized academic contexts.
How lexis is actually used
Lexis is chiefly used in linguistics, education, and discourse analysis. Outside these fields, vocabulary is usually more natural. It describes a body of words rather than a dictionary itself.
Easily confused with lexis
Lexicon usually means a language's vocabulary considered as a system or, in another common use, a dictionary, whereas lexis most directly means the words actually used by a person, text, community, or field.