Lexicology

Lexicology is the branch of linguistics that studies a language’s vocabulary, including words’ meanings, relationships, origins, and patterns of use.

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Lexeme: A lexeme is an abstract vocabulary unit that includes its grammatical forms, such as walk, walks, and walked. Lexicology studies vocabulary units beyond their individual inflected forms.
Word formation: Word formation is the creation of new words through processes such as compounding, affixation, and conversion. It explains how languages expand their vocabularies.
Etymology: Etymology is the study of a word’s history and the changes in its form and meaning. Word histories form one of lexicology’s central lines of inquiry.
Lexicography: Lexicography is the practice and study of compiling, editing, and analyzing dictionaries. Dictionary-making applies systematic knowledge about words and their meanings.
Word: A word is a linguistic unit that can function independently or combine with other units in speech and writing. Defining the word helps set the boundaries of the vocabulary lexicology examines.
Derivation: Derivation forms a new word by adding an affix or otherwise changing a word’s base. It is a productive way to create vocabulary with related meanings.
Historical linguistics: Historical linguistics studies how languages change over time and how they are related. Lexical change is one part of language change more broadly.
Dictionary: A dictionary is a reference work that records words and provides information such as meanings, pronunciation, or usage. Dictionaries present selected findings about vocabulary in an organized form.
Morpheme: A morpheme is the smallest linguistic unit that carries meaning or grammatical function. Word structure helps explain how vocabulary items are formed.
Compounding: Compounding forms a word by combining two or more existing words or stems. Compound words show how vocabulary combines meaningful units.