lexicographer
/ˌlɛksɪˈkɒɡɹəfə(ɹ)/
lexicographer means one who writes or compiles a dictionary. It carries an Arena rating of 1633, earned across 41 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, lexicographer ranks #1,863 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #3,117 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,851 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #4,965 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
lexicographer is pronounced /ˌlɛksɪˈkɒɡɹəfə(ɹ)/.
Why “lexicographer” is a great word
LEXICOGRAPHER — [Noun] A person who writes or compiles a dictionary. From French lexicographe, from Ancient Greek λεξικός (lexikós, "of words") + γράφω (gráphō, "write"); first attested in English c. 1650. Unlike a lexicologist, who theorizes about the structure of the lexicon, or a philologist, who excavates the life of language from ancient texts, the lexicographer is a practical cartographer of the living tongue. It is the solitary hand under a green-shaded lamp, cross-referencing "aardvark" and "zyzzyva"; it is the cold judgment required to banish a beloved but obsolete term; it is the silent surrender to the fact that every entry is a snapshot of a word already in motion—the patient, Sisyphean work of mapping a coastline that is forever eroding.
Etymology
From French lexicographe + -er, from Ancient Greek λεξικός (lexikós, “of words”) + γράφω (gráphō, “write”). By surface analysis, lexico- + -grapher.
noun
- One who writes or compiles a dictionary.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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