Morpheme Meaning
/ˈmɔː.fiːm/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe smallest linguistic unit within a word that can carry a meaning. It may be a letter, a syllable, or otherwise.
Sentence Examples
The linguist analyzed the morpheme structure.
The word consisted of several distinct morphemes.
A suffix is a common example of a morpheme.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In linguistics, a ____ is the smallest unit that carries meaning, like 'un-' or '-ed'.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In linguistics, a ____ is the smallest grammatical unit in a language that carries its own distinct meaning or function.
Word Origin & History
From French morphème. Ultimately from Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ, “shape, form”). By surface analysis, morph + -eme.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Just as a regiment is ultimately made up of soldiers, so the sentence is of morphemes—they are its ultimate constituents."
— 1970, Thomas Pyles, John Algeo, English: An Introduction to Language, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, page 135:
"There is therefore a natural tendency in both American and European structural linguistics to insist that the word should be syntactically decomposed. For writers such as Hockett (1958), or for that matter the early Chomsky (1957), the indivisible unit of grammar was the morpheme, and the relationship of morpheme to morpheme within the word […] was to be handled no differently from that of word to word in any larger structure."
— 1993, Peter Matthews, “Central Concepts of Syntax”, in Joachim Jacobs, Arnim von Stechow, Wolfgang Sternefeld, Theo Vennemann, editors, Syntax, Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 95:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In linguistics, a ____ is the smallest unit that carries meaning, like 'un-' or '-ed'.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In linguistics, a ____ is the smallest grammatical unit in a language that carries its own distinct meaning or function.