vocabulary

Etymology

From French vocabulaire, borrowed from Late Latin vocābulārium. See vocable.

noun

1. A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning.
2. The collection of words a person knows and uses.
   My Russian vocabulary is very limited.
3. The stock of words used in a particular field.
   The vocabulary of social sciences is often incomprehensible to ordinary people.
4. The words of a language collectively; lexis.
   The vocabulary of any language is influenced by contacts with other cultures.
   Vocabulary provides a foundation from which grammar, phonology, and morphology emerge, and in a subject area it provides access to conceptual knowledge. Vocabulary selection for pedagogical purposes is therefore crucial. 2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert, “Advancing disciplinary literacy through English for academic purposes: Discipline-specific wordlists, collocations and word families for eight secondary subjects”, in Journal of English for Academic Purposes, volume 35, →DOI, page 106
5. (by extension) A range of artistic or stylistic forms or techniques.