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View synonyms for morpheme

morpheme

[ mawr-feem ]

noun

, Linguistics.
  1. any of the minimal grammatical units of a language, each constituting a word or meaningful part of a word, that cannot be divided into smaller independent grammatical parts, as the, write, or the -ed of waited. Compare allomorph ( def 2 ), morph ( def 1 ).


morpheme

/ ˈmɔːfiːm /

noun

  1. linguistics a speech element having a meaning or grammatical function that cannot be subdivided into further such elements
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • morˈphemically, adverb
  • morˈphemic, adjective
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Other Words From

  • mor·phemic adjective
  • mor·phemi·cal·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of morpheme1

1895–1900; < French morphème; morph-, -eme
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Word History and Origins

Origin of morpheme1

C20: from French, from Greek morphē form, coined on the model of phoneme ; see -eme
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Compare Meanings

How does morpheme compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

For example, the morpheme er-, which qualified most anything having to do with an outer body part, could be stuck to -cho to yield ercho, meaning “head.”

Those words are made up of morphemes, small elements that change their meaning depending on how they are combined.

On the pretext of performing usability testing for Sparkle Dungeon 5, she is taught “power morphemes” — ways to condense layers of meaning into abstract sounds that can bend real-world physics, shattering glass and folding space-time.

She draws pictures illustrating each mouth morpheme — the lip and tongue postures that act as adjectives and adverbs.

I was imitating something linguistically unique to sign language called “mouth morphemes” — moving your tongue rapidly to demonstrate distance or swelling your cheeks like balloons to show size.

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morphallaxismorpheme structure condition