morpheme

Definition of Morpheme

(noun) The smallest meaningful linguistic unit in a language.

Example of Morpheme

• Prefixes, stems, and suffixes. Such as in the word undefinable: “un-” (prefix), define (stem), and “-able” (suffix).
  

Morpheme Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: mor·pheme

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˈmɔrˌfim/
• British English – /ˈmɔːfiːm/

Usage Notes

• Plural: morphemes
• Morpheme is compared and contrasted with phoneme.
• Linguistics (adverb) morphemically (adjective) study morphemic or (adjective) morphematic parts of words

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Sociolinguistics Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “morpheme” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com

Related Terms

• grammar
• language
• phoneme
• phonology
• semantics
• sociolinguistics
• speech
• symbol

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Cite the Definition of Morpheme

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “morpheme.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 23, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/morpheme/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

morpheme. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/morpheme/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “morpheme.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/morpheme/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“morpheme.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/morpheme/>.