Morpheme

Pronunciation: /ˈmɔːrfiːm/

Definitions of morpheme

noun a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word or a word element that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts

Example Sentences

A1 A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language.

A2 In English, the word 'cats' is made up of two morphemes: 'cat' and 's'.

B1 Linguists study morphemes to understand how words are formed in different languages.

B2 Morphemes can be classified as free morphemes, which can stand alone as words, or bound morphemes, which must be attached to other morphemes.

C1 The analysis of morphemes in a language can reveal its underlying structure and rules.

C2 Morphology, the study of morphemes and word formation, is a complex field that requires deep knowledge of linguistic principles.

Examples of morpheme in a Sentence

formal In linguistics, a morpheme is the smallest grammatical unit in a language.

informal I learned about morphemes in my linguistics class.

slang Do you understand how morphemes work in this language?

figurative Each morpheme is like a puzzle piece that fits together to form words.

Grammatical Forms of morpheme

• past tense: morphed
• plural: morphemes
• comparative: more morpheme
• superlative: most morpheme
• present tense: morphing
• future tense: will morph
• perfect tense: have morphed
• continuous tense: is morphing
• singular: morpheme
• positive degree: morpheme
• infinitive: to morph
• gerund: morphing
• participle: morphing

Origin and Evolution of morpheme

First Known Use: 1916 year

Language of Origin: Greek

Story behind the word: The word 'morpheme' originated from the Greek words 'morphe' meaning form and 'ema' meaning that which is put on.

Evolution of the word: The term 'morpheme' was first used in the field of linguistics by the American linguist Leonard Bloomfield in 1916. Since then, it has become a fundamental concept in the study of language structure and has evolved to encompass various aspects of linguistic analysis.