Reference
Glossary of terms.
A short, friendly glossary of the words behind the word games. Learn a few and every page reads a little brighter.
Lexicon
The full vocabulary of a language or a person — every word you know is part of your lexicon, and this whole lane is named for it.
Anagram
A word or phrase made by rearranging all the letters of another. 'Listen' and 'silent' are a classic pair.
Palindrome
A word or phrase that reads the same backwards as forwards, like 'level' or 'kayak'.
Portmanteau
A word blended from two others, carrying both meanings — 'smog' from smoke and fog.
Homophone
A word that sounds like another but means something different — 'their', 'there', and 'they're'.
Syllable
A single unit of sound in a word. 'Water' has two; 'lane' has one.
Vowel
The letters A, E, I, O, U — and sometimes Y — the open sounds most words are built around.
Consonant
Any letter that isn't a vowel — the framework that gives a word its shape.
Prefix
A word-part added to the front to change meaning, like the RE- in 'replay'.
Suffix
A word-part added to the end, like the -ING in 'playing' or the -ER in 'player'.
Rhyme
Words that share an ending sound, like 'play' and 'day' — the music of language.
Wordplay
The playful, clever use of words for wit or delight — the heart of everything on this site.