English
lexis
Lexis comes from Ancient Greek λέξις ‘speech, word’, from 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‘speech, word’
- Englishearliest quotation 2014lexis
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‘speech, word’
- Englishearliest quotation 2014lexis
Earliest quotation: 2014, Paul Lindsay, Teaching English Worldwide: “By the 1980s, English language teachers generally had begun…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect, gather’
election, collection, elite, logic, lesson, select, collect, eligible, apology, trilogy, sociology, coil, elect, analogy, elegant, terminology, negligence, physiology, legion, pathology, logos, negligent, monologue, diligent, prologue, negligible, eulogy, pathologist, archaeologist, cull, leach, etymology, logistic, entomology, homologous, epistemology, etiology, lignite, lignin, legation, 163 more
through Ancient Greek λέγω ‘speak’
technology, catalogue, astrology, epilogue, cosmology, gynecologist, dialectical, dialectic, dialogic, 19 more
through Ancient Greek λέξις ‘speech, word’
Today it means
noun The set of all words and phrases in a language; any unified subset of words from a particular language.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / lexis