Lecture I

Glossary

 The term lexicology is composed of two Greek
morphemes “lexis” meaning ‘word’ and “logos” which
denotes ‘learning’. Thus, the term ‘lexicology’ is “the
science of the word”.
 The term vocabulary is used to denote the system of
words and word-groups that the language possesses.
 The term word denotes the main lexical unit of a language
resulting from the association of a group of sounds with a
meaning. This unit is used in grammatical functions
characteristic of it. It is the smallest unit of a language
which can stand alone as a complete utterance.
 Definition

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics
which deals with the vocabulary and
characteristic features of words and
word-groups, studying them in respect to
their origin, development and current
use.
 The theoretical and practical value of
English lexicology

 The study of lexicology helps to group words, to show the
difference in their structure and meaning, and to explain
different lexical elements of the language;
 The study of lexicology provides information concerning
the English word-stock and the laws and regulations
governing the formation and usage of English words and
word-groups;
 The aim of the course is to teach students to be word-
conscious, to be able to guess the meaning of words they
come across from the meanings of morphemes, to be able
to recognize the origin of this or that lexical unit.
 Types of lexicology

 General lexicology
 Special lexicology
 Historical lexicology
 Descriptive lexicology
 Contrastive lexicology
 Comparative lexicology
 Cognitive lexicology
 Parts of lexicology

Semantics
Etymology
Phraseology
Lexicography
 The main approaches to
linguistic science

 The synchronic approach (syn “together” and chronos
“time”) is concerned with the vocabulary of a language as
it exists at a given time, for instance, at the present time.

 The diachronic approach (dia ”through”) deals with the

changes and the development of vocabulary in the course
of time.
 Lexicology and other
branches of linguistics

Lexicology is closely connected with:

Phonetics
Grammar
Stylistics
History of the language
