The Lexicon: What is it?

The Lexicon has its roots in the early 17th Century, where it was used to refer to books which contained lists of words and their meanings as they pertained to each other. The lexicon covers a wide area of study, including parts of words, such as prefixes and suffixes, as well as the history of how words were formed and relate to each other. Lexemes are specific groups of related words, which help to sort out meanings and provide an organizational pattern inside a lexicon.
Specific lexicons pertain to specific groups of people or a culture. By using specific lexicons, different cultures set themselves apart as unique people groups. The structure of the lexicon relies on the relationships between different word meanings, and is called Semantic Structure. No words stand alone without having a connection with other words. A semantic field can help illustrate the connections between words; this is when specific words are derived and used to arrive at other words which relate to the first words in the list. This can often lead to an endless list of relatable words. For example, the next post will contain a picture of a Wordle, which is a visual art image of specific words I have derived based on the Lexical study I’m beginning about the TV show, “The Office.”

Another important key to understanding the lexicon is the difference between denotation and connotation. Denotation is the actual dictionary definition of the word. Connotation is the particular setting in which words are used to mean different things.