lex

English

Etymology

From lexical analysis, from lexical.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /lɛks/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛks
• Homophones: Lex, leks

Verb

lex (third-person singular simple present lexes, present participle lexing, simple past and past participle lexed)

1. (computing) To perform lexical analysis; to convert a character stream to a token stream as a preliminary to parsing.
   • 1994, Donna K Harman, National Institute of Standards and Technology, The Second Text REtrieval Conference (TREC-2):

     Once this is done, each processor parses and lexes its own documents, using conventional programming techniques.

   • 2004, Richard William Sharp, Higher-level hardware synthesis:

     SAFL source is lexed and parsed into an abstract syntax tree.

   • 2007, Don Syme with Adam Granicz and Antonio Cisternino, Expert F#:

     Lexing and parsing do not have to be separated, and there are often convenient .NET methods for extracting information from text in particular formats...

Derived terms

• lexer

See also

• lex (software) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Noun

lex (plural lexes)

1. (linguistics) A specific inflected form of a word; compare lexeme.

See also

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *lēks. The usual etymology derives the term from Proto-Indo-European *lēǵ-s, a root nomen actionis from *leǵ- (“to gather”), whence also legō.

Palmer (1906) proposes an alternative origin in Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-s, root nomen actionis from *legʰ- (“to lie, to be in resting position”). Compare with the semantics of English law from this root.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /leːks/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /leks/,

Noun

lēx f (genitive lēgis); third declension

1. a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill
2. (figurative) a bill which has become a law, a law, a statute
   • a. 43 BC, Publilius Syrus, Sententiae (printed in translation Benham's Book of Quotations 1948)

     Lex universa est quae iubet nasci et mori.

     The universal law is that which ordains that we are to be born and to die.

     dura lex, sed lex.

     The law is tough but it is the law.

3. (figurative) a precept, regulation, principle, rule, mode, manner
4. (figurative) a contract, agreement, covenant
5. (figurative) a condition, stipulation

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Derived terms

Descendants

• →? Albanian: ligj
• Aromanian: leadzi
• Basque: lege
• Friulian: leç
• Galician: lei
• → German: lege artis
• Italian: legge
  • → Esperanto: leĝo
• Ladin: lege
• Old Leonese: lee, llei
  • Asturian: llei
• Lombard: leg
• Piedmontese: lèj
• Old Occitan: ley
  • Occitan: lei
  • Catalan: llei
• Old French: lei
  • Middle French: loy
    • French: loi
      • ⇒ Haitian Creole: lalwa
      • → Moore: laloa
  • Norman: louai
• Piedmontese: lege
• Portuguese: lei
• Romanian: lege
• Sicilian: liggi
• Old Spanish: ley
  • Spanish: ley
• Venetian: lexe
• Walloon: lwè

See also

References

Further reading

• “lex”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “lex”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• lex in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to give the state a constitution: rem publicam legibus et institutis temperare (Tusc. 1. 1. 2)
    
  • (a state) has its own laws, is autonomous: suis legibus utitur (B. G. 1. 45. 3)
    
  • a law is adopted: lex perfertur
    
  • the laws of Solon ordained that..: Solonis legibus sanctum erat, ut or ne
    
  • a law is valid: lex rata est (opp. irrita)
    
  • without breaking the law: salvis legibus (vid. sect. X. 7, note Notice...)
    
  • the law orders, forbids (expressly, distinctly): lex iubet, vetat (dilucide, planissime)
    
  • a legislator: legum scriptor, conditor, inventor
    
  • (ambiguous) a legislator: qui leges scribit (not legum lator)
    
  • to free from legal obligations: legibus solvere
    
  • (ambiguous) this is our natural tendency, our destiny; nature compels us: ita (ea lege, ea condicione) nati sumus
    
  • (ambiguous) the rules of speech, grammar: leges dicendi
    
  • (ambiguous) to hold by the letter (of the law): verba ac litteras or scriptum (legis) sequi (opp. sententia the spirit)
    
  • (ambiguous) the constitution: instituta et leges
    
  • (ambiguous) to give the state a constitution: civitati leges, iudicia, iura describere
    
  • (ambiguous) to bring a bill before the notice of the people: legem, rogationem promulgare (Liv. 33. 46)
    
  • (ambiguous) to propose a law in the popular assembly: legem ferre or simply ferre ad populum, ut...
    
  • (ambiguous) to support a bill (before the people): legem suadere (opp. dissuadere)
    
  • (ambiguous) to support a bill (before the people): pro lege dicere
    
  • (ambiguous) to formally propose a law to the people: legem rogare or rogare populum (cf. sect. XVI. 4, note Aulus Gellius...)
    
  • (ambiguous) to carry a law (said of the magistrate): legem perferre (Liv. 33. 46)
    
  • (ambiguous) to reject a bill: legem antiquare (opp. accipere, iubere)
    
  • (ambiguous) to vote for a law: legem sciscere (Planc. 14. 35)
    
  • (ambiguous) to ratify a law (used of the people): legem iubere
    
  • (ambiguous) to let a bill become law (of the people and senate): legem sancire
    
  • (ambiguous) Solo ordained by law that..: Solo lege sanxit, ut or ne
    
  • (ambiguous) to replace an old law by a new: legem abrogare (Att. 3. 23. 2)
    
  • (ambiguous) to abolish a law: legem tollere (Leg. 2. 12. 31)
    
  • (ambiguous) to protest against a law (used of the veto, intercessio, of plebeian tribunes): legi intercedere
    
  • (ambiguous) to bring a law before the notice of the people: legem proponere in publicum
    
  • (ambiguous) to engrave a law upon a brazen tablet: legem in aes incīdere
    
  • (ambiguous) to declare a law valid: legem ratam esse iubere
    
  • (ambiguous) to transgress a law: a lege discedere
    
  • (ambiguous) the law says..: in lege scriptum est, or simply est
    
  • (ambiguous) the spirit of the law: sententia or voluntas legis
    
  • (ambiguous) to make laws (of a legislator): leges scribere, facere, condere, constituere (not dare)
    
  • (ambiguous) a legislator: qui leges scribit (not legum lator)
    
  • (ambiguous) to swear obedience to a law: in legem iurare (Sest. 16. 37)
    
  • (ambiguous) to be bound by a law: lege teneri
    
  • (ambiguous) on condition of..: ea lege, ut
    
  • (ambiguous) a thing is illegal: aliquid contra legem est
    
  • (ambiguous) to upset the whole constitution: omnes leges confundere
    
  • (ambiguous) lawlessness; anarchy: leges nullae
    
  • (ambiguous) to go to law with a person: (ex) iure, lege agere cum aliquo
    
  • (ambiguous) to be condemned under the Lex Plautia: lege Plautia damnari (Sall. Cat. 31. 4)
    
• “lex”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “lex”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Middle English

Noun

lex

1. Alternative form of lax (“salmon”)

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin lex (“law”), attested since 1842.

Noun

lex c

1. (law) Used before a given name to form names, often informal, for certain laws.

Usage notes

• The given name that sometimes follow lex is often from the entity (person, animal, organisation) which gave reason to the need of that specific law.
• The structure involving lex can be compared with those involving the English terms act and in re, for example in re Gault. Note, however, that these legal terms may carry a different meaning.

Derived terms

References

• lex in Svensk ordbok (SO)

Wolof

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

lex (definite form lex bi)

1. cheek (part of the face)