English
lexical
Lexical comes from Latin lexis ‘a word’, from Ancient Greek λέγω ‘speak’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect, gather’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to collect, gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*légō‘to gather’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλέγω‘speak’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEλέξιςléxis‘word’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElexis‘a word’
- Englishearliest quotation 1988lexical
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to collect, gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*légō‘to gather’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλέγω‘speak’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEλέξιςléxis‘word’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElexis‘a word’
- Englishearliest quotation 1988lexical
Earliest quotation: 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course: “So, it seems clear that the idiosyncratic restrictions relating…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect, gather’
election, collection, elite, lesson, select, collect, logic, eligible, apology, trilogy, elect, sociology, elegant, coil, terminology, negligence, legion, physiology, pathology, logos, analogy, negligent, monologue, diligent, negligible, prologue, pathologist, archaeologist, eulogy, leach, cull, etymology, logistic, epistemology, entomology, homologous, etiology, lignite, lignin, legation, 164 more
through Proto-Hellenic *légō ‘to gather’
through Ancient Greek λέγω ‘speak’
technology, catalogue, astrology, epilogue, cosmology, gynecologist, dialectic, dialogic, 21 more
through Ancient Greek λέξις ‘word’
Today it means
adj Concerning the vocabulary, words, sentences or morphemes of a language.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / lexical