lexicalize

• lexicalise

From lexical +‎ -ize.

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lexicalize (third-person singular simple present lexicalizes, present participle lexicalizing, simple past and past participle lexicalized)

1. (intransitive, of a term) To become part of the vocabulary of a language as a single lexical unit with a distinct meaning.
2. (transitive) To accept a term into one's own vocabulary as a distinct lexical unit.
   • 1975, Eric H. Lenneberg, Elizabeth Lenneberg, Foundations of Language Development: A Multidisciplinary Approach, volume 1, page 192:

     In fact, the child will lexicalize one, two, or three elements of the semantic representation according to his lexicalization span.