lexicalize

English

Alternative forms

lexicalise

Etymology

lexical +‎ -ize

Verb

lexicalize (third-person singular simple present lexicalizes, present participle lexicalizing, simple past and past participle lexicalized)

(transitive) To convert to a single lexical unit, as a group of words with meaning beyond their parts.
- 1975, Eric H. Lenneberg, Elizabeth Lenneberg, Foundations of Language Development: A Multidisciplinary Approach, volume 1, page 192
  In fact, the child will lexicalize one, two, or three elements of the semantic representation according to his lexicalization span.

Related terms

lexicalisation
lexicalization

Translations

to convert to a single lexical unit

Catalan: lexicalitzar (ca)
Czech: lexikalizovat
Danish: leksikalisere

French: lexicaliser (fr)
German: lexikalisieren (de)
Russian: лексикализовать (ru) (leksikalizovatʹ)