lexis
/ˈlɛksɪs
/noun [mass noun]
1The total stock of words in a language.According to Mr. Schaik, the influence of the Dutch was there in the Indian and Sri Lankan languages which had absorbed a few Dutch words in their lexis....
- Because the word ‘globalization’ wasn't part of the general lexis back then, the snoring bankers weren't troubled by dark daydreams filled with hungry competitors from a flattening world preparing to eat their splendid lunch.
1.1The level of language consisting of vocabulary, as opposed to grammar or syntax: the distinction between grammar and lexis...
- Each major area is enclosed by a large number of isoglosses representing differences in lexis, grammar, and phonology.
- This grammar is the first pedagogic grammar to integrate syntax and lexis using corpus data.
Origin
1950s (denoting the wording in a piece of writing): from Greek, literally 'word' (see lexicon).