lexis

plural lexises · plural lexes · plural lexeis

1. countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe set of all words and phrases in a language; any unified subset of words from a particular language.

   Thus, alongside current lexis, words and senses now obsolete find a place in a dictionary on historical principles.

   2018, James Lambert, “Anglo-Indian slang in dictionaries on historical principles”, in World Englishes, volume 37, page 249

2. countableuncountableWords, collocations, and common phrases in a language; vocabulary and word combinations.

   By the 1980s, English language teachers generally had begun to realize that there had been a neglect of lexis in teaching methods and coursebooks. […] The basic truth that without vocabulary or lexis we can't express anything had to be restated and a new approach to teaching lexis was needed.

   2014, Paul Lindsay, Teaching English Worldwide, page 346

3. countableuncountableThe vocabulary used by a writer.

   In this broadsheet newspaper, the reporter uses a complicated and formal lexis which I find hard to understand.

1. pluralplural of Lexi

plural Lexises

1. A female given name, variant of Alexis