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lexicographer

noun
lex·​i·​cog·​ra·​pher | \ ËŒlek-sÉ™-ˈkä-grÉ™-fÉ™r How to pronounce lexicographer (audio) \

Definition of lexicographer

: an author or editor of a dictionary
Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about lexicographer

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Did You Know?

Today, we're looking at a word that is dear to our hearts: lexicographer. The ancient Greeks were some of the earliest makers of dictionaries; they used them mainly to catalog obsolete terms from their rich literary past. To create a word for writers of dictionaries, the Greeks sensibly attached the suffix -graphos, meaning "writer," to lexikon, meaning "dictionary," to form lexikographos, the direct ancestor of the English word lexicographer. Lexikon, which itself descends from Greek lexis (meaning "word" or "speech"), also gave us lexicon, which can mean either "dictionary" or "the vocabulary of a language, speaker, or subject."

Examples of lexicographer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 JC Gutierrez as Nick and Bianca Garcia as Gwen are two on-deadline lexicographers who work to keep the online Merriam-Webster dictionary current. — Christine Dolen, sun-sentinel.com, "Review: ‘She Shorts’ puts women in the spotlight," 15 July 2019 According to Jonathan Dent, a lexicographer at the OED, uprising became more popular in the wake of the documentary Stonewall Uprising, which was released in 2010. — Time, "Was Stonewall a Riot, an Uprising or a Rebellion?," 24 June 2019 Webster, the famous lexicographer, His tie-in with this week’s featured home is strengthened by the fact that the family that bought Webster’s house and the surrounding 11 acres of land in 1910 ultimately built the stately home featured here. — courant.com, "Property of the Week: 215 South Main Street, West Hartford," 28 June 2019 All of these are quotes in the last 48 hours from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will soon have to hire a lexicographer to come up with new ways to say that Mr. Trump is committing impeachable offenses. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "A ‘Constitutional Crisis’," 9 May 2019 The job entailed his becoming an etymologist, lexicographer and field worker generally among the native speakers in his own country. — Joseph Epstein, WSJ, "We All Speak American," 10 Aug. 2018 But this abundance of Internet speak and signals can be hard to keep up with, as new meanings spread across the web at a speed that was unimaginable when lexicographers relied on filing cabinets. — Katy Steinmetz, Time, "A Major Dictionary Has Officially Added Emoji," 6 Mar. 2018 Surprisingly, lexicographers like Kory Stamper have not been dismayed by coarse presidential language. — Stephanie Ebbert, BostonGlobe.com, "Words you couldn’t say in The Boston Globe — until now," 17 Apr. 2018 But then, part of the thrill of being a lexicographer is knowing that the work will never be done. — Ben Huberman, Longreads, "To Be a Lexicographer Is to Surrender to Folly," 3 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lexicographer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of lexicographer

1625, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for lexicographer

Late Greek lexikographos, from lexikon + Greek -graphos writer, from graphein to write

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More from Merriam-Webster on lexicographer

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with lexicographer

Spanish Central: Translation of lexicographer

Nglish: Translation of lexicographer for Spanish Speakers

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