*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of lex

Clipping of lexical (analysis).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To perform lexical analysis; to convert a character stream to a token stream as a preliminary to parsing.

noun

A particular inflected form. · An isolex (isogloss of a word).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of lexical (analysis).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":clip",
        "3": "lexical<alt:lexical (analysis)>",
        "id": "lexical analysis",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#clipping|Clipping]] of\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"lexical (analysis)\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"lexical\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"clipping\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"lex\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"lexical analysis\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"lex\" id=\"English:_lexical_analysis\">\nClipping of lexical (analysis)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":clip",
        "3": "lexical<alt:lexical (analysis)>",
        "id": "lexical analysis",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of lexical (analysis)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lexical (analysis)",
      "lexical#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To perform lexical analysis; to convert a character stream to a token stream as a preliminary to parsing."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "5bfa647ff734ea70468e11f73a97666cea797afbb67dddb065621a6c068ae034",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7cc411f0b3e3152899db6caece8b4e0091c45f6af6641d41a42e113ad3f13527",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 164083
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A particular inflected form.",
        "An isolex (isogloss of a word)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncommon"
      ],
      "recordId": "5fd69d11458549f1565702d1f0c554576579cdb85963cef070d3d44933807365",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b7d415adba22ddd20c0f4abc9bb321081744f490bfca6d0bdf17ec95681da006",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 164084
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A Roman or Latin law (particularly in ancient Rome or in medieval Europe).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *lḗǵs? Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *lḗgʰs? Proto-Italic *lēks Latin lēx, lēgeslbor. English lex Learned borrowing from Latin lēx, lēges (“law(s)”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:lēx<id:law><alt:lēx, lēges><t:law(s)>",
        "id": "law",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *leǵ-\nProto-Indo-European *-s\nProto-Indo-European *lḗǵs?\nProto-Indo-European *legʰ-\nProto-Indo-European *-s\nProto-Indo-European *lḗgʰs?\nProto-Italic *lēks\nLatin lēx, lēgeslbor.\nEnglish lex\n[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"lēx, lēges\", \"id\" : \"law\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*lḗǵs\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to collect\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*leǵ-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"lengthened acrostatic\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-s\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"alt\" : \"*lḗgʰs\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to lie\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*legʰ-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"id\" : \"lengthened acrostatic\", \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"ine-pro\", \"id\" : \"lengthened acrostatic\", \"pos\" : \"suffix\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-s\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*lēks\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"lēx\", \"gloss\" : \"law(s)\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"lex\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"law\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"lex\" id=\"English:_law\">\nLearned borrowing from Latin lēx, lēges (“law(s)”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:lēx<id:law><alt:lēx, lēges><t:law(s)>",
        "id": "law",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *leǵ-\nProto-Indo-European *-s\nProto-Indo-European *lḗǵs?\nProto-Indo-European *legʰ-\nProto-Indo-European *-s\nProto-Indo-European *lḗgʰs?\nProto-Italic *lēks\nLatin lēx, lēgeslbor.\nEnglish lex\nLearned borrowing from Latin lēx, lēges (“law(s)”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*leǵ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/leǵ-#Proto-Indo-European:_to_collect"
    ],
    [
      "*-s",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-s#Proto-Indo-European:_lengthened_acrostatic"
    ],
    [
      "*legʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/legʰ-#Proto-Indo-European:_to_lie"
    ],
    [
      "*-s",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-s#Proto-Indo-European:_lengthened_acrostatic"
    ],
    [
      "*lēks",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/lēks"
    ],
    [
      "lēx, lēges",
      "lex#Latin:_law"
    ],
    [
      "lēx, lēges",
      "lex#Latin:_law"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A Roman or Latin law (particularly in ancient Rome or in medieval Europe)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncommon"
      ],
      "recordId": "5b5f9b418722471d2f9a0a769bf0dbe74829c14860428d5ffaaea501599af850",
      "rawRecordSha256": "9d38a5ad2e75fa9c3af3372ebb2635077b68f2ed93062d41d7b3b8a2ca995c0e",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 164085
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for lex →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bGV4