grapheme

American  

[graf-eem] / ˈgræf im /

noun

Linguistics.

1. a minimal unit of a writing system.

2. a unit of a writing system consisting of all the written symbols or sequences of written symbols that are used to represent a single phoneme.

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grapheme British  

/ ˈɡræfiːm /

noun

1. linguistics one of a set of orthographic symbols (letters or combinations of letters) in a given language that serve to distinguish one word from another and usually correspond to or represent phonemes, e.g. the f in fun, the ph in phantom, and the gh in laugh

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Other Word Forms

• graphemically adverb

Etymology

Origin of grapheme

First recorded in 1935–40; graph- + -eme

Example Sentences

“In linguistics, a grapheme is the smallest unit of the writing system of any given language.”

From The New Yorker • Dec. 31, 2016

The consensus is that the dense connections in the synesthetes are fibers transgressing the boundary between adjacent grapheme and color areas.

From Scientific American • Oct. 20, 2015