Definition of "lexis" [lexis]

• The total set of words in a language as distinct from morphology; vocabulary. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Another possibility is that an innovation may represent a shift in the meaning of an older word previously in speakers 'lexis, which is sometimes prompted by new developments in social structure or technologies."
• "It was Michael Lewis who was the first to popularize the view that “language consists of grammaticalized lexis, not lexicalized grammar” (1993, p. 34)."
• "Yes, the pattern grammar analyses that Hunston & Francis have done has added a signifcant new dimension to the grammar-lexis interface (well, not so new, since Hornby had popularised verb patterns in the 1950s but then they fell into disrepute, having become associated with pattern practice drills)."