LEXICAL WORD Meaning and
Definition
-
A lexical word is a term used in linguistics to refer to a word that carries meaning on its own, as opposed to being a grammatical or functional word. Also known as a content word, it is a unit of language that represents a concrete concept, action, or object or describes a characteristic or quality. Lexical words are typically nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that convey the main message or information in a sentence.
In contrast to lexical words, grammatical or functional words, also known as structural words, do not have specific referential meanings and instead serve to connect or modify lexical words. These words include articles, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, and auxiliary verbs. While important for sentence structure and understanding grammar, they carry less conceptual or descriptive meaning compared to lexical words.
The distinction between lexical and grammatical words helps to analyze and understand the overall composition and organization of a language. It allows linguists to identify the core content-bearing words that convey ideas, actions, or objects, while recognizing the supporting words that provide grammatical structure and cohesion to sentences. By examining the usage and distribution of lexical words within a particular language, researchers can gain insights into its semantic and syntactic properties, facilitating deeper comprehension and analysis of linguistic patterns.
Etymology of LEXICAL WORD
The term "lexical word" consists of two components: "lexical" and "word".
The word "lexical" is derived from the Greek word "lexis", which means "word" or "speech". In linguistics, it refers to anything related to words, vocabulary, or lexicon. The term "lexical" is used to describe something that pertains to vocabulary or words, rather than grammar or syntax.
The term "word" has origins in various languages. It can be traced back to the Old English word "word", which meant "speech" or "utterance". This word, in turn, can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic word "wurdan" and the Proto-Indo-European root "wer", meaning "to speak" or "to say".
