vocabulary word

noun3

1. •
   (US) A word which a student is expected to learn; a word included in a test of one's general vocabulary or of subject-specific terminology

   • The teacher then held up a real food item of each vocabulary word and asked the students to repeat each word in Spanish. — 2010
2. •
   (US, informal) A newly learned word; a sophisticated or pretentious word

   • They are — here's a new vocabulary word — anadromous, which means that when it's time for them to spawn, they return to the fresh water where they were born. — 2013
3. •
   An ordinary dictionary word, as opposed to a name or neologism

   • Donna—Of recent origin (not found as a name before the 1920s). Derived from the Italian vocabulary word donna "lady" and also used as a feminine form of Donald. — 2014