λέξις

Forms

λέξῐς (léxis) f (genitive λέξεως); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun of action, from Ancient Greek λέγω (légō, “to speak”) + -σις (-sis).^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Plato and Isocrates it is the act of speaking, speech as opposed to song or action, and the manner of speaking or style;^[2][4] Plato's Apology speaks of the style used in the law courts.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Aristotle uses it both for style, the subject of a part of his Rhetoric, and for a single word or phrase.^[2][4] The grammarians used it for a word peculiar in form or sense, so that λέξεις was the older name for a glossary; the commentators used it for an author's text as opposed to the explanation of it.^[2] The phrase κατὰ λέξιν meant “word for word”.^[4]

It was borrowed as Latin lexis and as Coptic ⲗⲉⲝⲓⲥ (lexis).^[5][6] In medieval Greek it meant a word, an expression or a language.^[7] Modern Greek has it as the learned word Modern Greek λέξη (léxi) “word”, a sense that Babiniotis dates to the Hellenistic period.^[8][9]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Isocrates and Plato use it for speaking and for style.^[2][10][11]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for style and for a single word or phrase.^[2][11]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for a word.^[2][4][11]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Athenaeus cites glossaries of local λέξεις, such as Rhodian words.^[2][11]
• 7th century AD – A Coptic text of 625 has the borrowing.^[6]
• Modern Greek – It is λέξη, “word”.^[8][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Speech, the act of speaking, as opposed to song or action.^[2][4]
2. Manner of speaking or writing; diction, style.^[2][4]
3. A single word or phrase; also a statement or remark.^[2][4]
4. (grammar) A word peculiar in form or meaning; in the plural, a glossary.^[2]
5. The text of an author, as opposed to commentary.^[2]

Related words

• διάλεξις (diálexis)
• ἔκλεξις (éklexis)
• ἐπίλεξις (epílexis)
• εὔλεξις (eúlexis)
• κατάλεξις (katálexis)
• λεκτικός (lektikós)
• λεξικόν (lexikón)
• λεξικός (lexikós)
• περίλεξις (perílexis)
• σύλλεξις (súllexis)
• λέγω (légō)
• Latin lexis

Usage notes

κατὰ λέξιν meant “word for word”, and also introduced a verbatim quotation.^[4][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
6. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
7. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
10. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
11. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge