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Meaning Origin language and etymology Example(s) dacry(o)-of or pertaining to tears: Greek δάκρυ, tear dacryoadenitis, dacryocystitis-dactyl(o)-of or pertaining to a finger, toe Greek δάκτυλος (dáktulos), finger, toe dactylology, polydactyly: de-from, down, or away from Latin de-dehydrate, demonetize, demotion dent-
Online Etymology Dictionary. The Online Etymology Dictionary or Etymonline, sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the Oxford English Dictionary, which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the origins of English words, written and compiled by Douglas R. Harper. [ 1]
Linguistics. Literal and figurative language is a distinction that exists in all natural languages; it is studied within certain areas of language analysis, in particular stylistics, rhetoric, and semantics. Literal language uses words exactly according to their direct, straightforward, or conventionally accepted meanings: their denotation.
Lexicon. A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical ). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word lexicon derives from Greek word λεξικόν ( lexikon ), neuter of λεξικός ( lexikos) meaning 'of or for words'.
Connotation. A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation . A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regard to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection. [ 1]
Langenscheidt dictionaries in various languages. A multi-volume Latin dictionary by Egidio Forcellini. Dictionary definition entries. A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for logographic languages ...
Defining vocabulary. A defining vocabulary is a list of words used by lexicographers to write dictionary definitions. The underlying principle goes back to Samuel Johnson 's notion that words should be defined using 'terms less abstruse than that which is to be explained', [1] and a defining vocabulary provides the lexicographer with a ...
"Gerrymander," "blue states," and "red tape." These words populate headlines and newspaper articles regularly, with many writers taking their meaning for granted, but a look through history can ...