Definition of "lexicalize"

lexicalize

verb
third-person singular simple present lexicalizes, present participle lexicalizing, simple past and past participle lexicalized
1. (intransitive, of a term) To become part of the vocabulary of a language as a single lexical unit with a distinct meaning.
2. (transitive) To accept a term into one's own vocabulary as a distinct lexical unit.
  Quotations
  In fact, the child will lexicalize one, two, or three elements of the semantic representation according to his lexicalization span.
  1975, Eric H. Lenneberg, Elizabeth Lenneberg, Foundations of Language Development: A Multidisciplinary Approach, volume 1, page 192