Ordbogsmæssigt

Ordbogsmæssigt is a Danish adverb meaning “in terms of the dictionary” or “lexicographically.” It is used to describe statements or analyses that refer to dictionary conventions, such as spelling, word forms, lemmas, and definitional practices, rather than purely grammatical or semantic properties. The term is primarily found in linguistic, lexicographic, and philological writings.

Etymology: The word is formed from ordbog (dictionary) plus the suffix -mæssigt, which creates adverbs meaning “in the manner of” or “from the perspective of.” The construction is transparent: ordbog + mæssigt, yielding a specialized, formal term used in scholarly Danish.

Usage and scope: In academic Danish, ordbogsmæssigt is used to frame observations about how a word is listed or treated in standard dictionaries. For example, writers may refer to spelling variants, hovedordsvalg (headword selection), or definitional sense distinctions as they are presented in a lexicon. It is a formal, sometimes niche term and appears more often in scholarly prose than in everyday language.

Related terms: Ordbogsmæssigt is closely connected to leksikografi (lexicography) and the practice of maintaining or analyzing ordbøger (dictionaries). See also concepts such as ordbog, lexis, and lemma in the broader study of dictionary-making and lexical description.