It seems to me that it is difficult to abandon terms that have been
cherished for a long time. When I argue in a scholarly context, I
often get the question: "Can you give an example?" It is often easier
to grasp ideas by looking at them from a practical point of view, how
they work. So allow me to ask a few questions regarding the term
"lexical meaning," which often is used without being adequately
defined, and often being used in a wrong way, in my view. In order
to test my claim "that 'lexical meaning' cannot be expressed in
writing or in speech, it must be known (except with very simple
words),' I ask a few questions.
First I use the translational setting: Expressed in English, what is
the "lexical meaning" of the nouns NP$ and XSD and the verb $LM?
Then I use the setting of the one English language: What is the
lexical meaning of the nouns "meaning" and "world" and the verb "to
love"?
Can the "lexical meaning" in each case be expressed with one word, or
must the "lexical meaning" be expressed with several different words
in each case? Or can it be that the "lexical meaning" cannot be
expressed by words at all, because it is tied to a concept in the
minds of living people?
Those who use the term "lexical meaning" in connection with
Hebrew-English lexicons should be able to give some answers to these
questions.