What does lexicon mean?
Word: Lexicon
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Lexicon means all the words used in a language, by a person or in a subject; it can also mean a dictionary, especially of an old language.
How do you spell lexicon?
Syllables: lex - i - con
Tricky part: The 'ks' sound is written with a single x. Leksicon and lecsicon are the usual slips.
Watch out for: leksicon, lecsicon
Memory tip: A lexicon is a box of words, and box ends in the same x that makes the 'ks' sound here.
Lexicon in a sentence
Example 1: Words like selfie and emoji have entered the English lexicon only recently.
Example 2: Our science teacher says every subject has a lexicon, so we keep a glossary at the back of our notebooks.
Example 3: Hindi has taken many English words into its everyday lexicon.
Fun Fact
The word comes from Greek, where a lexicon was simply a word book, that is, a dictionary.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
lex_c_n
a) a, o
b) i, o
c) e, o
d) i, a
Show answer
b) i, o. The short i of six follows the x, and the word ends in -con, as in bacon.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters to find the word that fits the sentence:
The old Sanskrit xcolnei on the library shelf lists thousands of words with their meanings.
a) silicon
b) election
c) lexicon
d) legion
Show answer
c) lexicon. Election needs a t and a second e, silicon an s and two i's, and legion a g; the x points to lexicon.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word lexicon as used in the sentence:
Cricket has its own lexicon, full of words like googly, yorker and silly point.
a) alphabet
b) accent
c) vocabulary
d) grammar
Show answer
c) vocabulary. Googly, yorker and silly point are the special words of cricket, its vocabulary.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. lexicon 2. punctuation 3. paragraf 4. pronunciation
a) marks such as commas and full stops
b) the whole stock of words in a language
c) a group of sentences about one idea
d) the way a word is said aloud
Show answer
c) a group of sentences about one idea. Paragraph ends in ph; lexicon, pronunciation and punctuation are spelt correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Pick the word you would expect in the lexicon of football.
a) backstroke
b) ace
c) offside
d) checkmate
Show answer
c) offside
2. When a new word enters a language's lexicon, it ____.
a) loses all of its old meaning
b) becomes part of the words people use
c) is banned from all newspapers
d) is used only by poets and writers
Show answer
b) becomes part of the words people use
