fox: linguistics-related IPA (linguistics)
fox ([personal profile] fox) wrote2005-03-09 11:59 pm

a question in my notes from this afternoon

why is the plural of lexicon not lexica?

[eta:  dudes!
Main Entry: lex·i·con
Pronunciation: 'lek-s&-"kän also -k&n
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural lex·i·ca /-k&/; or lexicons
Etymology: Late Greek lexikon, from neuter of lexikos of words, from Greek lexis word, speech, from legein to say -- more at LEGEND
1 : a book containing an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language and their definitions : DICTIONARY
2 a : the vocabulary of a language, an individual speaker or group of speakers, or a subject b : the total stock of morphemes in a language
3 : REPERTOIRE, INVENTORY

i hereby recommend that we all start using lexica ... whenever we ... happen to ... need to talk about ... more than one ... lexicon ... okay.  well, look for it in my thesis, then! heh.]

[identity profile] wholenother.livejournal.com 2005-03-12 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
I once saw "apparati" -- published. Almost fell out of my chair. That would be "apparātus, apparātūs, m.," fourth declension, for the four people left on Earth who still care.

But what I really want is for you to convince the world to use "fora."

Yeah, I'm behind on LJ -- what of it?