lexical

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster

Arts, Literature, Language Courses, Education

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2024

⏱️ 2 minutes

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Summary

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 17, 2024 is:

lexical • \LEK-sih-kul\ • adjective

To describe something as lexical is to say that it is related to words or vocabulary.

// A dictionary provides lexical information—it tells you what the word "cat" means, not all there is to know about cats.

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Examples:

"From his [artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's] lyrical brushstrokes to his lexical compositions, music is imbued even when the reference is subtle or ambiguous. There are obvious portraits of jazz greats and song titles in many works, while others force a more discerning gaze." — Natasha Gural, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023

Did you know?

The word lexical and its relatives have a special place in our hearts (and in our dictionaries). In addition to referring to one's personal vocabulary, lexicon can be used as a synonym of dictionary, and the word lexicography refers to the practice of making dictionaries. Both of these words, as well as lexical, come from the Greek word lexis, meaning "word" or "speech." So, if you’re considering a lexical—that is, word-related—career as a wordsmith or, say, a lexicographer, you may want to add these terms to your lexicon.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's the Word of the Day podcast for December 17th.
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0:42.1	Today's word is lexical, spelled L-E-X-I-C-L. Lexical is an adjective. To describe something as lexical
0:50.7	is to say that it is related to words or vocabulary. Here's the word used in a sentence
0:56.8	from Forbes by Natasha Gourrell. From artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's lyrical brushstrokes to his lexical
1:05.6	compositions, music is imbued even when the reference is subtle or ambiguous.
1:11.6	There are obvious portraits of jazz grates and song titles in many works,
1:16.6	while others force a more discerning gaze.
1:19.6	The word lexical and its relatives have a special place in our hearts and in our dictionaries.
1:26.6	In addition to referring to one's personal
1:29.7	vocabulary, the word lexicon can be used as a synonym of the word dictionary, and the word
1:35.8	lexicography refers to the practice of making dictionaries. Both of these words as well as lexical
1:42.1	come from the Greek word lexis, meaning word or speech. So if you're
1:47.1	considering a lexical that is word-related career as a word smith or, say, a lexicographer,
1:53.7	you may want to add these terms to your lexicon. With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.
2:09.4	Visit Miriamwebster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups.

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