Lexicology is the part of
linguistics which studies
words. This may include their nature and function as
symbols, their
meaning, the relationship of their meaning to
epistemology in general, and the rules of their composition from smaller elements (
morphemes such as the English
-ed marker for past or
un- for negation; and
phonemes as basic sound units). Lexicology also involves relations between words, which may involve
semantics (for example,
love vs.
affection),
derivation (for example,
fathom vs.
unfathomably), usage and
sociolinguistic distinctions (for example,
flesh vs.
meat), and any other issues involved in analyzing the whole
lexicon of a language.