lexika

Lexika is the plural form of Lexikon in German and in several other languages, referring to reference works that organize knowledge about words, terms, and concepts. The term can denote dictionaries, encyclopedias, or encyclopedic dictionaries, depending on the scope and purpose of the volume. In English, the corresponding singular is lexicon (plural lexica). While lexicon commonly denotes the vocabulary of a language or a mental inventory of words, lexica in reference work form can cover both word meanings and broader informational articles about topics, people, places, and ideas.

Lexika differ from ordinary dictionaries in scope and structure. A Wörterbuch or dictionary typically focuses on word forms, definitions, pronunciation, and usage. A Lexikon or Lexika tends to emphasize encyclopedic coverage, including etymology, development, related concepts, and contextual articles. They can be monolingual, bilingual, or specialized for fields such as science, history, or technology.

Types and examples include classical and historic lexica, such as Liddell-Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon, which compiles detailed entries about classical terms; comprehensive modern dictionaries like the Oxford English Dictionary; and digital resources that function as lexical databases, such as WordNet and Wiktionary. Digital lexica organize lemmas, senses, etymologies, and semantic relations and are widely used in linguistics, lexicography, language learning, and natural language processing.

See also lexicography, lexeme, and encyclopedia.