TKT Module 1 – Lexis | Glossary of Key Terms and Definitions for Language Teachers
Compound nouns, verbs, adjectives or prepositions that are made up of two or more words
and have one unit of meaning
False Friend a word in the target language which looks or sounds as if it has the same
meaning as a similar word in the learner's first language but does not
Homonym a word with the same spelling as another word, but which has a different
meaning
Homophone a word which sounds the same as another word, but has a different meaning or
spelling
Idiom A group of words that are used together, in which the meaning of the whole word
group is different from the meaning of each individual word
Lexical Set a group of words or phrases that are about the same content topic or subject
Phrasal Verb a verb which is made up of more than one word, example; a verb and a
preposition- which has a different meaning from each individual word
Prefix a meaningful group of letters added to the beginning of a root word or base word to
make a new word, which can be a different part of speech from the original word
Register the formality or informality of the language used in a particular situation
Root Word / Base Word a basic word or part of a word from which other words can be
made by adding a prefix or suffix
Compound nouns, verbs, adjectives or prepositions that are made up of two or more words
and have one unit of meaning
False Friend a word in the target language which looks or sounds as if it has the same
meaning as a similar word in the learner's first language but does not
Homonym a word with the same spelling as another word, but which has a different
meaning
Homophone a word which sounds the same as another word, but has a different meaning or
spelling
Idiom A group of words that are used together, in which the meaning of the whole word
group is different from the meaning of each individual word
Lexical Set a group of words or phrases that are about the same content topic or subject
Phrasal Verb a verb which is made up of more than one word, example; a verb and a
preposition- which has a different meaning from each individual word
Prefix a meaningful group of letters added to the beginning of a root word or base word to
make a new word, which can be a different part of speech from the original word
Register the formality or informality of the language used in a particular situation
Root Word / Base Word a basic word or part of a word from which other words can be
made by adding a prefix or suffix
