What is a Hapax Legomenon?

Hapax legomenon (plural: hapaxes or hapax legomena) is a term used in linguistics to describe a word or phrase that appears only once within a particular text, corpus of texts, or language. The term comes from the Greek words "hapax" meaning "once" and "legomenon" meaning "said".

In other words, a hapax is a word or phrase that is unique to a specific context and does not appear anywhere else in the same text, corpus of texts, or language. This can include proper nouns, technical terms, slang, or any other type of word or phrase that is used only once.

For example, if a writer uses a particular word or phrase only once in a novel, it would be considered a hapax. Similarly, if a word or phrase appears only once in a particular language or dialect, it would also be considered a hapax.

Hapaxes can provide valuable insights into the language and culture of a particular text or corpus of texts, as they often reveal unique aspects of the author's style, background, or context. They can also be useful for identifying rare or obscure words or phrases that may not be well-known to readers or scholars.