Лексикология английского языка = English Lexicology

О. А. ЗИНИНА, А. Б. ОКАЕВА

ЛЕКСИКОЛОГИЯ
АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА

English lExicology

Допущено Министерством образования Республики 
Беларусь в качестве учебного пособия для учащихся 
учреждений образования, реализующих 
образовательные программы среднего 
специального образования по специальности 
«Иностранный язык»

Минск 
РИПО
2017

УДК 802.0(075.32)
ББК  81.2Англ-5я723
 
З-63 
А в т о р ы:  
заведующий кафедрой лексикологии английского языка УО «Минский  
государственный лингвистический университет»,  
кандидат филологических наук, доцент О. А.Зинина;  
старший преподаватель А. Б. Окаева 

Рецензенты: 
цикловая комиссия практической грамматики УО МГЛУ 
«Лингвогуманитарного колледжа» (О. Е. Артеменко); заведующий кафедрой 
теории и практики английского языка УО «Гомельский государственный 
университет имени Франциска Скорины», кандидат педагогических наук, 
доцент Л. И. Богатикова

Все права на данное издание защищены. Воспроизведение всей книги или любой 
ее части не может быть осуществлено без разрешения издательства.
Выпуск издания осуществлен при финансовой поддержке Министерства 
образо вания Республики Беларусь.

Зинина, О. А.
Лексикология английского языка = English Lexicology : 
учеб. пособие / О. А. Зинина, А. Б. Окаева. – Минск : РИПО, 2017. – 
138 с.

З-63

ISBN 978-985-503-734-8.

Учебное пособие содержит теоретическую и практическую части, сочетающие 
в себе ключевые вопросы по изучаемой теме, необходимые для формирования 
базовых лингвистических знаний о лексической системе английского языка, ее 
вариативности и особенностях организации. Задания и упражнения нацелены на 
повторение лекционного материала, углубление знаний при изучении отдельных 
тем и совершенствование навыков работы с различными лексикографическими  
источниками.
Предназначено для учащихся учреждений среднего специального образования 
по специальности «Иностранный язык».

УДК 802.0(075.32)
ББК 81.2Англ-5я723

ISBN 978-985-503-734-8                    © Зинина О. А., Окаева А.Б., 2017
 
 
 
                © Оформление. Республиканский институт
     
 
 
 
     профессионального образования, 2017

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

В данном учебном пособии представлен  базовый курс 
лексикологии английского языка, изучаемый  учащимися 
педагогических колледжей. Цель учебного пособия – ознакомить учащихся с особенностями лексического строя английского языка, помочь им сознательно подходить к практическому овладению лексикой.
В пособии осуществлен единый подход к изложению 
учебного материала, состоящий в поэтапном рассмотрении 
теоретических положений курса и выполнении направленных на его закрепление практических заданий. Такой подход способствует более успешному усвоению всех включенных в пособие тем.
Данное пособие включает в себя также списки сокращений, наиболее часто используемых в современных англоязычных источниках для обозначения языков и словарей. 
Характер и объем теоретического материала определен 
учебной программой. Теоретические сведения предлагаются 
в объеме, необходимом для практического усвоения основных лингвистических понятий. Базовые понятия и термины, которые изложены в каждом разделе, предваряют изложение теоретического материала, тем самым способствуя 
максимально полному усвоению темы.
Практическая часть учебного пособия включает в себя 
вопросы и практические задания. Предложенные вопросы 
способствуют концентрации внимания учащихся на наиболее важных научных понятиях и явлениях языка, описанных в разделах. Целью практических заданий является 
выработка умений и приобретение навыков работы с английской лексикой, предотвращение некоторых типичных 
лексических ошибок и развитие языковой догадки. 

Предисловие

Для проверки умения практического применения полученных знаний в учебном пособии приводится заключительный тест по всему пройденному материалу. Вопросы 
теста построены в соответствии с той последовательностью, 
в которой представлены теоретические положения пособия. 
Ответы на задания теста призваны помочь студентам самостоятельно оценить свои знания и степень усвоения каждой 
отдельной темы.
Для оптимизации усвоения основных лингвистических 
понятий в учебном пособии приводится глоссарий.
Учебное пособие завершается списком литературы и 
словарей, а также перечнем электронных ресурсов.

Widely used abbreviations denoting 
languages

AmE (NAmE) –American English / North American English
Ar. – Arabic
AustrE – Australian English
BrE – British English
CanE – Canadian English
Fr. – French
G – German
Gk – Greek
Gmc – Germanic
Goth. – Gothic
Heb. – Hebrew
It. – Italian
L – Latin
LL – Late Latin
NL – New Latin
Norm. – Norman
OE – Old English
OF – Old French
ON – Old Norse
OS – Old Saxon
ScotE – Scottish English

Widely used abbreviations denoting 
dictionaries

AHD – American Heritage Dictionary
ALD (OALD) – Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current 
English
CALD – Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
CCED – Collins Cobuild English Dictionary
COD / COED – Concise Oxford Dictionary
DAE – Dictionary of American English on Historical Principles 
LDAE – Longman Dictionary of American English
LDOCE – Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
MEDAL – Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners
NOAD – New Oxford American Dictionary 
NODE – New Oxford Dictionary Of English
Webster’s Third – Webster’s Third New International Dictionary

introduction

topics 

Lexicology, its aims, tasks and object.
1. 
Lexicology and its links with other branches of linguistics.
2. 
Theoretical and practical value of lexicology for training of 
3. 
teachers.
General characteristics of the English lexicon, its social and 
4. 
cultural predetermination.
Lexical units of the English language and their properties.
5. 
The concept of lexeme.
6. 

Key terms and notions

affixes 
descriptive / synchronic 
etymology 
general lexicology 
historical / diachronic 
lexeme
lexical unit

lexicography
lexicon (vocabulary)
morpheme
phraseological unit 
(idiom)
phraseology 
roots

semantics 
sociolinguistics
special lexicology 
word
word-formation

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics which studies the vocabulary of 
the language. The term is derived from two Greek words – lexis (word) 
and logos (learning). Thus, the literal meaning of the term lexicology is 
the science of the word. All the words of a language make up its 
vocabulary or lexicon.  Lexicology studies all aspects of the vocabulary – 
how words: 1) are formed, 2) have developed, 3) are used, 4) relate in 
meaning to each other, 5) are represented in dictionaries.
The lexical system of every language contains productive elements 
typical of a particular period of time, others that are obsolete and dropping 
out of usage, and finally, some new phenomena, significant marks of new 

introduction

trends which are coming into use. Thus, lexicology deals with the 
vocabulary and characteristic features of words and word-groups.
The principal distinction is made between General Lexicology and 
Special Lexicology. General lexicology is a part of General Linguistics. 
It is concerned with the general study of words and the vocabulary 
irrespective of the specific features of any particular language. 
It investigates linguistic phenomena and properties common to all 
languages. Special Lexicology devotes its attention to the description of 
the characteristic peculiarities in the vocabulary of a particular 
language. 
Our attention will be devoted to the study of Modern English 
Lexicology which is aimed at giving a systematic description of the wordstock of Modern English. So, English Lexicology investigates the 
problems of word-structure and word-formation, the semantic structure 
of English words, the main principles underlying the classification of 
vocabulary units into various groupings, problems of dictionary 
compiling. The mentioned fields of study constitute the following 
branches of lexicology:
etymology
­– 
 which discovers earlier meanings of words and their 
origin;
the study of the morphology of the word or the parts of a word, 
– 
patterns on which a language builds new words is the subject matter of 
word-formation;
semantics
­– 
 deals with the meaning of words;
phraseology 
­– 
is a branch of lexicology which studies different types 
of set-expressions which like words name various objects and 
phenomena;
lexicography
­– 
 which deals with dictionary-compiling.
The vocabulary can be studied by means of two approaches: 
descriptive or synchronic and historical or diachronic, i. e. the 
synchronic approach is concerned with the vocabulary of a language at 
the given stage of its development, the diachronic approach deals with the 
changes and the development of the vocabulary in the course of time.
Lexicology is a branch of linguistics and it is closely connected with 
other linguistic disciplines. Lexicology is connected with phonetics 
because they have the same object of study − the word, but phonetics 

introduction

studies the outer form and lexicology studies the inner form of the word. 
Lexicology is connected with grammar because lexicology studies words 
and grammar studies the grammatical relations between words and how 
words are combined into phrases and sentences. Lexicology is closely 
linked with the history of the language because the history of the language 
studies the changes and the development of the vocabulary in the course 
of time. Lexicology is also connected with stylistics because stylistics 
studies the differentiation of the vocabulary according to the sphere of 
communication.
But there is a tremendous difference between lexicology on the one 
hand and phonology, morphology and syntax on the other. This difference 
lies in the fact that the vocabulary of a language directly and immediately 
reacts to whatever happens in the social life of the speech community. 
Thus, extra-linguistic factors influence the usage and development of the 
vocabulary. The impact of these factors is studied by sociolinguistics 
which may be defined as the study of the influence produced upon the 
language by various social factors. This influence is particularly strong 
in the lexicon. Thus, lexicology is closely connected with sociolinguistics 
as it is based on establishing interrelations between the language, social 
life and conventions of language use.
The knowledge prospective teachers gain from the study of lexicology 
will guide them in all their dealings with the English vocabulary and help 
them apply this information to the solution of practical problems they 
may face in class-room teaching. It stimulates a systematic approach to 
and comparison between foreign and native languages. It is particularly 
useful in building up the learner’s vocabulary by an effective selection, 
grouping and analysis of new words which are better remembered if they 
are given not at random but organized in thematic groups, word-families, 
and synonymic series.
The importance of the English lexicon is based on the fact that at 
present English is one of the most widely used languages in the world. It 
is spoken as a native language in such countries as Great Britain, the 
United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. In many countries 
English is used as a second language, e. g. in India and Pakistan. English 
is a universal language of international aviation; it is a language of 
business, tourism and commerce. For these reasons English is widely 
studied as a foreign language all over the world.

introduction

The Oxford English Dictionary includes over 600,000 definitions. 
But this number is disputed by some scholars. It seems quite probable that 
English has more words than most comparable world languages. The 
reason for this is historical. English was originally a Germanic language, 
related to Dutch and German, and it shares much of its basic vocabulary 
with those languages. However, after the Norman Conquest in 1066 it 
was hugely influenced by Norman French, which became the language of 
the ruling class for a considerable period, and by Latin, which was the 
language science and the Church. Very large numbers of French and 
Latin words entered the language. English is also ready to borrow foreign 
words, and as it has become an international language, it has absorbed 
vocabulary from a large number of other sources. 
The English lexicon is a system of lexical units organized as an 
orderly structure. They are words, morphemes and phraseological units 
or idioms. Lexical units possess both form and meaning; they are 
registered in dictionaries and reproduced in speech. They differ from 
other linguistic units, e. g. phonetic units (phonemes) which have 
no meaning of their own, syntactic units (sentences, word-groups) which 
are created for every speech occasion, and consequently cannot 
be registered in dictionaries.
The word is the basic unit of the lexicon. There have been numerous 
attempts to define the word, to give it an adequate and complete 
interpretation. But as it often happens in research, no unanimity of views 
has been reached because the word is a very complicated and multifaceted 
phenomenon.
In most general terms the word can be defined as a sequence of 
human sounds which create an autonomous unity and convey a certain 
autonomous meaning. This definition takes into account both the form of 
the word and its meaning: the word is the unit that functions separately 
and carries a distinct meaning as a name of an object however abstract 
this object might be. The word is a language unit which can stand alone 
as a complete utterance. The word is a two-facet unit as it has its form and 
content. Its content or meaning reflects human notions. Concepts fixed in 
the meaning of words are formed as generalized reflections of reality. 
The sound-form of the word serves to name objects of reality. When 
a word first comes into existence, it is built out according to the existing 
patterns available in the language.