Towards a lexicographic account of GIRL: forms, meanings and values

Lexicography is basically concerned with the meaning and use of words. In recent times, lexicographers have investigated not only the meanings of words in their mutual systemic relations (e.g., synonymy, antonymy, hoponymy etc.), but modern lexicographic research has extended its interest into the area of studying the way words are used and, in particular, how lexical associations are used and how various meanings linked to individual lexical items are reflected in the areas of their word-formation; phraseological and paremiological productivity of lexicography is, therefore, directly connected to phraseology because the target of both disciplines is to investigate sets of fixed expressions (idioms, phrasal verbs, etc.) and other types of multi-word lexical units. This paper makes an attempt to make an in-depth lexicographic account of the lexical item girl and its productivity, as evidenced in lexicographic sources. Our sample data may provide a starting point for producing an alternative reference work for non-native learners of English.