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Glossary 4.6 Glossary
- Affix.
A bound morpheme that attaches to a base; includes prefixes (before) and suffixes (after).
- Allomorph.
One of two or more phonetic forms of a single morpheme (e.g., the plural morpheme has allomorphs /s/, /z/, and /ÉĒz/).
- Base.
The morpheme that carries the core meaning of a word; the element to which affixes attach. Also called the root.
- Bound morpheme.
A morpheme that cannot stand alone as a word; must be attached to another morpheme.
- Compound.
A word formed by combining two or more free morphemes.
- Free morpheme.
A morpheme that can stand alone as an independent word.
- Morpheme.
The smallest unit of language that carries meaning.
- Morphology.
The branch of linguistics that studies word structure and word formation.
- Nominalization.
The process of converting a verb or adjective into a noun, typically through suffixes like -tion, -ment, -ness, or -ity.
- Prefix.
An affix that attaches before the base.
- Productive.
Describes a morphological pattern that speakers actively use to create new words.
- Suffix.
An affix that attaches after the base.
- Suppletion.
The use of an entirely different word form to express a grammatical contrast (e.g., go/went).
