Definition of every word - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

Although
the borderline between various linguistic units is not always sharp
and clear, we shall try to define every new term on its first
appearance at once simply and unambiguously, if not always very
rigorously. The approximate definition of the term word
has already been given in the opening page of the book.

The
important point to remember about
definitions
is that they should indicate the most essential characteristic
features of the notion expressed by the term under discussion, the
features by which this notion is distinguished from other similar
notions. For instance, in defining the word one must distinguish it
from other linguistic units, such as the phoneme, the morpheme, or
the word-group. In contrast with a definition, a description
aims at enumerating all the essential features of a notion.

To
make things easier we shall begin by a preliminary description,
illustrating it with some examples.

The
word
may be described as the basic unit of language. Uniting meaning and
form, it is composed of one or more morphemes, each consisting of one
or more spoken sounds or their written representation. Morphemes as
we have already said are also meaningful units but they cannot be
used independently, they are always parts of words whereas words can
be used as a complete utterance (e. g. Listen!).
The
combinations of morphemes within words are subject to certain linking
conditions. When a derivational affix is added a new word is formed,
thus, listen
and
listener
are
different words. In fulfilling different grammatical functions words
may take functional affixes: listen
and
listened
are
different forms of the same word. Different forms of the same word
can be also built analytically with the help of auxiliaries. E.g.:
The
world should listen then as I am listening now (Shelley).

When
used in sentences together with other words they are syntactically
organised. Their freedom of entering into syntactic constructions is
limited by many factors, rules and constraints (e. g.: They
told me this story but
not *They
spoke me this story).

The
definition of every basic notion is a very hard task: the definition
of a word is one of the most difficult in linguistics because the

simplest
word has many different aspects. It has a sound form because it is a
certain arrangement of phonemes; it has its morphological structure,
being also a certain arrangement of morphemes; when used in actual
speech, it may occur in different word forms, different syntactic
functions and signal various meanings. Being the central element of
any language system, the word is a sort of focus for the problems of
phonology, lexicology, syntax, morphology and also for some other
sciences that have to deal with language and speech, such as
philosophy and psychology, and probably quite a few other branches of
knowledge. All attempts to characterise the word are necessarily
specific for each domain of science and are therefore considered
one-sided by the representatives of all the other domains and
criticised for incompleteness. The variants of definitions were so
numerous that some authors (A. Rossetti, D.N. Shmelev) collecting
them produced works of impressive scope and bulk.

A
few examples will suffice to show that any definition is conditioned
by the aims and interests of its author.

Thomas
Hobbes (1588-1679),
one
of the great English philosophers, revealed a materialistic approach
to the problem of nomination when he wrote that words are not mere
sounds but names of matter. Three centuries later the great Russian
physiologist I.P. Pavlov (1849-1936)
examined
the word in connection with his studies of the second signal system,
and defined it as a universal signal that can substitute any other
signal from the environment in evoking a response in a human
organism. One of the latest developments of science and engineering
is machine translation. It also deals with words and requires a
rigorous definition for them. It runs as follows: a word is a
sequence of graphemes which can occur between spaces, or the
representation of such a sequence on morphemic level.

Within
the scope of linguistics the word has been defined syntactically,
semantically, phonologically and by combining various approaches.

It
has been syntactically defined for instance as “the minimum
sentence” by H. Sweet and much later by L. Bloomfield as “a
minimum free form”. This last definition, although structural in
orientation, may be said to be, to a certain degree, equivalent to
Sweet’s, as practically it amounts to the same thing: free forms
are later defined as “forms which occur as sentences”.

E.
Sapir takes into consideration the syntactic and semantic aspects
when he calls the word “one of the smallest completely satisfying
bits of isolated ‘meaning’, into which the sentence resolves
itself”. Sapir also points out one more, very important
characteristic of the word, its indivisibility:
“It cannot be cut into without a disturbance of meaning, one or two
other or both of the several parts remaining as a helpless waif on
our hands”. The essence of indivisibility will be clear from a
comparison of the article a
and
the prefix a-
in
a
lion and
alive.
A lion is
a word-group because we can separate its elements and insert other
words between them: a
living lion, a dead lion. Alive is
a word: it is indivisible, i.e. structurally impermeable: nothing can
be inserted between its elements. The morpheme a-
is
not free, is not a word. The

situation
becomes more complicated if we cannot be guided by solid spelling.’
“The Oxford English Dictionary», for instance, does not
include the
reciprocal pronouns each
other and
one
another under
separate headings, although
they should certainly be analysed as word-units, not as word-groups
since they have become indivisible: we now say with
each other and
with
one another instead
of the older forms one
with another or
each
with the other.¹

Altogether
is
one word according to its spelling, but how is one to treat all
right, which
is rather a similar combination?

When
discussing the internal cohesion of the word the English linguist
John Lyons points out that it should be discussed in terms of two
criteria “positional
mobility”
and
“uninterruptability”.
To illustrate the first he segments into morphemes the following
sentence:

the
—
boy
—
s
—
walk
—
ed
—
slow
—
ly
—
up
—
the
—
hill

The
sentence may be regarded as a sequence of ten morphemes, which occur
in a particular order relative to one another. There are several
possible changes in this order which yield an acceptable English
sentence:

slow
—
ly
—
the
—
boy
—
s
—
walk
—
ed
—
up
—
the
—
hill
up —
the
—
hill
—
slow
—
ly
—
walk
—
ed
—
the
—
boy
—
s

Yet
under all the permutations certain groups of morphemes behave as
‘blocks’ —
they
occur always together, and in the same order relative to one another.
There is no possibility of the sequence s
—
the
—
boy,
ly —
slow,
ed —
walk.
“One
of the characteristics of the word is that it tends to be internally
stable (in terms of the order of the component morphemes), but
positionally mobile (permutable with other words in the same
sentence)”.²

A
purely semantic treatment will be found in Stephen Ullmann’s
explanation: with him connected discourse, if analysed from the
semantic point of view, “will fall into a certain number of
meaningful segments which are ultimately composed of meaningful
units. These meaningful units are called words.»³

The
semantic-phonological approach may be illustrated by A.H.Gardiner’s
definition: “A word is an articulate sound-symbol in its aspect of
denoting something which is spoken about.»⁴

The
eminent French linguist A. Meillet (1866-1936)
combines
the semantic, phonological and grammatical criteria and advances a
formula which underlies many subsequent definitions, both abroad and
in our country, including the one given in the beginning of this
book: “A word is defined by the association of a particular meaning
with a

¹Sapir
E. Language.
An Introduction to the Study of Speech. London, 1921,
P.
35.

²Lyons,
John. Introduction
to Theoretical Linguistics. Cambridge: Univ. Press, 1969.
P. 203.

³Ullmann
St. The
Principles of Semantics. Glasgow, 1957.
P.
30.

⁴Gardiner
A.H. The
Definition of the Word and the Sentence //
The
British Journal of Psychology. 1922.
XII.
P. 355
(quoted
from: Ullmann
St.,
Op.
cit., P. 51).

particular
group of sounds capable of a particular grammatical employment.»¹

This
definition does not permit us to distinguish words from phrases
because not only child,
but
a
pretty child as
well are combinations of a particular group of sounds with a
particular meaning capable of a particular grammatical employment.

We
can, nevertheless, accept this formula with some modifications,
adding that a word is the smallest significant unit of a given
language capable of functioning alone and characterised by positional
mobility
within
a sentence, morphological
uninterruptability
and semantic
integrity.²
All these criteria are necessary because they permit us to create a
basis for the oppositions between the word and the phrase, the word
and the phoneme, and the word and the morpheme: their common feature
is that they are all units of the language, their difference lies in
the fact that the phoneme is not significant, and a morpheme cannot
be used as a complete utterance.

Another
reason for this supplement is the widespread scepticism concerning
the subject. It has even become a debatable point whether a word is a
linguistic unit and not an arbitrary segment of speech. This opinion
is put forth by S. Potter, who writes that “unlike a phoneme or a
syllable, a word is not a linguistic unit at all.»³
He calls it a conventional and arbitrary segment of utterance, and
finally adopts the already mentioned
definition of L. Bloomfield. This position is, however, as
we have already mentioned, untenable, and in fact S. Potter himself
makes ample use of the word as a unit in his linguistic analysis.

The
weak point of all the above definitions is that they do not establish
the relationship between language and thought, which is formulated if
we treat the word as a dialectical unity of form and content, in
which the form is the spoken or written expression which calls up a
specific meaning, whereas the content is the meaning rendering the
emotion or the concept in the mind of the speaker which he intends to
convey to his listener.

Summing
up our review of different definitions, we come to the conclusion
that they are bound to be strongly dependent upon the line of
approach, the aim the scholar has in view. For a comprehensive word
theory, therefore, a description seems more appropriate than a
definition.

The
problem of creating a word theory based upon the materialistic
understanding of the relationship between word and thought on the one
hand, and language and society, on the other, has been one of the
most discussed for many years. The efforts of many eminent scholars
such as V.V. Vinogradov, A. I. Smirnitsky, O.S. Akhmanova, M.D.
Stepanova, A.A. Ufimtseva —
to
name but a few, resulted in throwing light

¹Meillet
A. Linguistique
historique et linguistique generate. Paris,
1926.
Vol.
I. P. 30.

²It
might be objected that such words as articles, conjunctions and a few
other words
never occur as sentences, but they are not numerous and could be
collected into a
list of exceptions.

³See:
Potter
S. Modern
Linguistics. London, 1957.
P.
78.

on this problem and achieved a
clear presentation of the word as a basic unit of the language. The
main points may now be summarised.

The
word
is the
fundamental
unit
of language.
It is a dialectical
unity
of form
and
content.
Its content or meaning is not identical to notion, but it may reflect
human notions, and in this sense may be considered as the form of
their existence. Concepts fixed in the meaning of words are formed as
generalised and approximately correct reflections of reality,
therefore in signifying them words reflect reality in their content.

The
acoustic aspect of the word serves to name objects of reality, not to
reflect them. In this sense the word may be regarded as a sign. This
sign, however, is not arbitrary but motivated by the whole process of
its development. That is to say, when a word first comes into
existence it is built out of the elements already available in the
language and according to the existing patterns.

Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]

Источник

Collins

determiner

1 each one (of the class specified), without exception
every child knows it

2 not used with a negative the greatest or best possible
every hope of success

3 each: used before a noun phrase to indicate the recurrent, intermittent, or serial nature of a thing
every third day, every now and then, every so often

4   ♦
every bit   used in comparisons with: as   quite; just; equally
every bit as funny as the other show

5   ♦
every other   each alternate; every second
every other day

a in all directions; everywhere
I looked every which way for you

b      (U.S. and Canadian)   from all sides
stones coming at me every which way
     (C15 everich, from Old English æfre ælc, from æfre ever + ælc each)

every one
      pron   each person or thing in a group, without exception
every one of the large cats is a fast runner

English Collins Dictionary — English Definition & Thesaurus

Collaborative Dictionary English Definition


portmanteau word	n.	a new word formed by joining together two others and combining their meanings. Examples: brunch, camcorder, carjack, motel, greenwash, smog, workaholic.
smackeroo	n.	colloquial word for a dollar
charver	n.	charver is another word for chav	If you lived in Newcastle you would know it. Common in NE England
! Momasita	n.	An endearing word for mom.
sound out (a word)	v.	to say, pronounce, speak	ex.: The child sounded out each word out loud as she read her book.
the f-word	n.	euphemism referring to the word «fuck»
! kerned yoghourt	v.	kerned is a Somerset word meaning ‘thickened’
! Cyber Freedom	o.	It is right of every netizen to hold any opinion in cyberspace without any sanction.	[Tech.] freedom of expression
! Freedom of Cyber Information	o.	Right of every person to get any information online without any restriction	[Tech.] Right of information
the n-word	n.	euphemism referring to the taboo word «nigger»
ship	n.	An abbreviation of the word ‘relationship.’ The word describes fans’ approval of fictional or desired romances between characters or pop culture figures.	Example: I totally ship Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber.
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis	n.	artificial long word coined to mean a lung disease known as silicosis, a type of pneumoconiosis caused by inhalation of ultra-microscopic particles of crystalline silica volcanic dust. It has the particularity of being the longest word in the English language published in a dictionary	Longer tech. terms exist (up to 189,819 letters!).The word, presumably coined in 1935 by E.M. Smith (pres. of the National Puzzlers’League) in imitation of very long medical terms, contains 45 letters
bung	n.	a colloquial word meaning a bribe: policemen accepting bungs from journalists
grawlix	n.	string of symbols used instead of an obscene word (ex.: #!@*)
gazunder	n.	a humorous and old-fashioned word that means a chamber pot	Comes from the fact that the chamber pot ‘gazunder’ (= goes under) the bed
the c-word	n.	euphemism used to refer to the taboo word «cunt»
employerism	n.	a portmanteau of ’employer’ and ‘voyeurism’. signifies the act of searching for an employer or the practice of an employer when looking to fill positions. The term places an emphasis on the secretive connotation of the word ‘voyeur’, denoting a clandestine and thus superior form of employment search	[Tech.] Ex.: Employerism is what one must engage in, if one wishes to embark upon a more productive job hunt!
! automagically	adv.	Supernaturally performed from force of habit or without conscious thought; a portmanteau word formed from «automatically» and «magically»	Wherever he went, flowers automagically materialized in the hands of all nearby women.

To add entries to your own vocabulary, become a member of Reverso community or login if you are already a member.
It’s easy and only takes a few seconds:

Источник

Top Definitions
Synonyms
Quiz
Related Content
Examples
British
Idioms And Phrases

This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.

noun

a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning. Words are composed of one or more morphemes and are either the smallest units susceptible of independent use or consist of two or three such units combined under certain linking conditions, as with the loss of primary accent that distinguishes the one-wordblackbird (primary stress on “black”, and secondary stress on “bird”) from black bird (primary stress on both words). Words are usually separated by spaces in writing, and are distinguished phonologically, as by accent, in many languages.

(used in combination with the first letter of an offensive or unmentionable word, the first letter being lowercase or uppercase, with or without a following hyphen): My mom married at 20, and she mentions the m-word every time I meet someone she thinks is eligible.See also C-word, F-word, N-word.

words,

speech or talk: to express one’s emotion in words;Words mean little when action is called for.
the text or lyrics of a song as distinguished from the music.
contentious or angry speech; a quarrel: We had words and she walked out on me.

a short talk or conversation: Marston, I’d like a word with you.

an expression or utterance: a word of warning.

warrant, assurance, or promise: I give you my word I’ll be there.

news; tidings; information: We received word of his death.

a verbal signal, as a password, watchword, or countersign.

an authoritative utterance, or command: His word was law.

Also called machine word. Computers. a string of bits, characters, or bytes treated as a single entity by a computer, particularly for numeric purposes.

(initial capital letter)Also called the Word, the Word of God.

the Scriptures; the Bible.
the Logos.
the message of the gospel of Christ.

a proverb or motto.

verb (used with object)

to express in words; select words to express; phrase: to word a contract with great care.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Which sentence is correct?

Idioms about word

at a word, in immediate response to an order or request; in an instant: At a word they came to take the situation in hand.

be as good as one’s word, to hold to one’s promises.

eat one’s words, to retract one’s statement, especially with humility: They predicted his failure, but he made them eat their words.

have a word, to talk briefly: Tell your aunt that I would like to have a word with her.

have no words for, to be unable to describe: She had no words for the sights she had witnessed.

in a word, in summary; in short: In a word, there was no comparison.Also in one word.

in so many words, in unequivocal terms; explicitly: She told them in so many words to get out.

keep one’s word, to fulfill one’s promise: I said I’d meet the deadline, and I kept my word.

man of his word / woman of her word, a person who can be trusted to keep a promise; a reliable person.

(upon) my word! (used as an exclamation of surprise or astonishment.)

of few words, laconic; taciturn: a woman of few words but of profound thoughts.

of many words, talkative; loquacious; wordy: a person of many words but of little wit.

put in a good word for, to speak favorably of; commend: He put in a good word for her with the boss.Also put in a word for.

take one at one’s word, to take a statement to be literal and true.

take the words out of one’s mouth, to say exactly what another person was about to say.

weigh one’s words, to choose one’s words carefully in speaking or writing: It was an important message, and he was weighing his words.

Origin of word

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch woord, German Wort, Old Norse orth, orð, Gothic waurd, waúrd, all from Germanic wurdam (unattested); akin to Latin verbum “word,” Greek rhḗtōr (dialect wrḗtōr ) “public speaker, orator, rhetorician,” Old Prussian wirds “word,” Lithuanian var̃das “name”

OTHER WORDS FROM word

in·ter·word, adjectiveout·word, verb (used with object)well-word·ed, adjective

Words nearby word

Worcester china, Worcester sauce, Worcestershire, Worcestershire sauce, Worcs, word, word accent, wordage, word association, word association test, word-blind

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to word

conversation, talk, account, advice, announcement, comment, expression, information, message, news, remark, report, rumor, saying, speech, concept, name, phrase, sound, term

How to use word in a sentence

In other words, the large-scale burning this summer shows that these campaigns have yet to effectively prevent deforestation or the subsequent uncontrolled wildfires in Brazil.
In this example, I went with the word “shoes” as this is a product listing for shoes.
That may feel like a strange word to describe a perennial 50-game winner — one that’s been so good, and so close — with a generational scoring talent.
Think of good synonyms or words connected to the brand, without compromising your Google ranking.

If you mouse over the word, you’ll see original English word.
This is acting in every sense of the word—bringing an unevolved animal to life and making it utterly believable.
She vowed to repay the money—no official word, however, on whether she ever did that.
But news of the classes is spread mainly by word of mouth, and participants bring along their friends and families.
Still other people have moved away from the word “diet” altogether.
Back in Iran, he once got word that the Iranians were going to raid a village where his men were stationed.
Not a word now,” cried Longcluse harshly, extending his hand quickly towards him; “I may do that which can’t be undone.
Every word that now fell from the agitated Empress was balm to the affrighted nerves of her daughter.
When we were mounted Mac leaned over and muttered an admonitory word for Piegan’s ear alone.
Now for the tempering of the Gudgeons, I leave it to the judgment of the Workman; but a word or two of the polishing of it.
Huxley quotes with satirical gusto Dr. Wace’s declaration as to the word «Infidel.»

British Dictionary definitions for word (1 of 3)

noun

one of the units of speech or writing that native speakers of a language usually regard as the smallest isolable meaningful element of the language, although linguists would analyse these further into morphemesRelated adjective: lexical, verbal

an instance of vocal intercourse; chat, talk, or discussionto have a word with someone

an utterance or expression, esp a brief onea word of greeting

news or informationhe sent word that he would be late

a verbal signal for action; commandwhen I give the word, fire!

an undertaking or promiseI give you my word; he kept his word

an autocratic decree or utterance; orderhis word must be obeyed

a watchword or slogan, as of a political partythe word now is «freedom»

computing a set of bits used to store, transmit, or operate upon an item of information in a computer, such as a program instruction

as good as one’s word doing what one has undertaken or promised to do

at a word at once

by word of mouth orally rather than by written means

in a word briefly or in short

my word!

an exclamation of surprise, annoyance, etc
Australian an exclamation of agreement

of one’s word given to or noted for keeping one’s promisesI am a man of my word

put in a word for or put in a good word for to make favourable mention of (someone); recommend

take someone at his word or take someone at her word to assume that someone means, or will do, what he or she sayswhen he told her to go, she took him at his word and left

take someone’s word for it to accept or believe what someone says

the last word

the closing remark of a conversation or argument, esp a remark that supposedly settles an issue
the latest or most fashionable design, make, or modelthe last word in bikinis
the finest example (of some quality, condition, etc)the last word in luxury

the word the proper or most fitting expressioncold is not the word for it, it’s freezing!

upon my word!

archaic on my honour
an exclamation of surprise, annoyance, etc

word for word

(of a report, transcription, etc) using exactly the same words as those employed in the situation being reported; verbatim
translated by substituting each word in the new text for each corresponding word in the original rather than by general sense

word of honour a promise; oath

(modifier) of, relating to, or consisting of wordsa word list

verb

(tr) to state in words, usually specially selected ones; phrase

(tr often foll by up) Australian informal to inform or advise (a person)

Word Origin for word

Old English word; related to Old High German wort, Old Norse orth, Gothic waurd, Latin verbum, Sanskrit vratá command

British Dictionary definitions for word (2 of 3)

noun the Word

Christianity the 2nd person of the Trinity

Scripture, the Bible, or the Gospels as embodying or representing divine revelationOften called: the Word of God

Word Origin for Word

translation of Greek logos, as in John 1:1

British Dictionary definitions for word (3 of 3)

n combining form

(preceded by the and an initial letter) a euphemistic way of referring to a word by its first letter because it is considered to be in some way unmentionable by the userthe C-word, meaning cancer

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with word

In addition to the idioms beginning with word

word for word
word of honor
word of mouth, by
words fail me
words of one syllable, in
words stick in one’s throat
words to that effect
word to the wise, a

also see:

actions speak louder than words
at a loss (for words)
at a word
break one’s word
eat one’s words
famous last words
fighting words
four-letter word
from the word go
get a word in edgewise
give the word
go back on (one’s word)
good as one’s word
hang on someone’s words
have a word with
have words with
in brief (a word)
in other words
in so many words
keep one’s word
last word
leave word
man of his word
mark my words
mince matters (words)
mum’s the word
not breathe a word
not open one’s mouth (utter a word)
of few words
picture is worth a thousand words
play on words
put in a good word
put into words
put words in someone’s mouth
swallow one’s words
take someone at his or her word
take the words out of someone’s mouth
true to (one’s word)
weasel word
weigh one’s words

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Источник

Definition of a Word

A word is a speech sound or a combination of sound having a particular meaning for an idea, object or thought and has a spoken or written form. In English language word is composed by an individual letter (e.g., ‘I’), I am a boy, or by combination of letters (e.g., Jam, name of a person) Jam is a boy. Morphology, a branch of linguistics, deals with the structure of words where we learn under which rules new words are formed, how we assigned a meaning to a word? how a word functions in a proper context? how to spell a word? etc.

Examples of word: All sentences are formed by a series of words. A sentence starts with a word, consists on words and ends with a word. Therefore, there is nothing else in a sentence than a word.

Some different examples are: Boy, kite, fox, mobile phone, nature, etc.

Different Types of Word

There are many types of word; abbreviation, acronym, antonym, back formation, Clipped words (clipping), collocation, compound words, Content words, contractions, derivation, diminutive, function word, homograph, homonym, homophone, legalism, linker, conjunct, borrowed, metonym, monosyllable, polysyllable, rhyme, synonym, etc. Read below for short introduction to each type of word.

Abbreviation

An abbreviation is a word that is a short form of a long word.

Example: Dr for doctor, gym for gymnasium

Acronym

Acronym is one of the commonly used types of word formed from the first letter or letters of a compound word/ term and used as a single word.

Example: PIA for Pakistan International Airline

Antonym

An antonym is a word that has opposite meaning of an another word

Example: Forward is an antonym of word backward or open is an antonym of word close.

Back formation

Back formation word is a new word that is produced by removing a part of another word.

Example: In English, ‘tweeze’ (pluck) is a back formation from ‘tweezers’.

Clipped words

Clipped word is a word that has been clipped from an already existing long word for ease of use.

Example: ad for advertisement

Collocation

Collocation is a use of certain words that are frequently used together in form of a phrase or a short sentence.

Example: Make the bed,

Compound words

Compound words are created by placing two or more words together. When compound word is formed the individual words lose their meaning and form a new meaning collectively. Both words are joined by a hyphen, a space or sometime can be written together.

Example: Ink-pot, ice cream,

Content word

A content word is a word that carries some information or has meaning in speech and writing.

Example: Energy, goal, idea.

Contraction

A Contraction is a word that is formed by shortening two or more words and joining them by an apostrophe.

Example: ‘Don’t’ is a contraction of the word ‘do not’.

Derivation

Derivation is a word that is derived from within a language or from another language.

Example: Strategize (to make a plan) from strategy (a plan).

Diminutive

Diminutive is a word that is formed by adding a diminutive suffix with a word.

Example: Duckling by adding suffix link with word duck.

Function word

Function word is a word that is mainly used for expressing some grammatical relationships between other words in a sentence.

Example: (Such as preposition, or auxiliary verb) but, with, into etc.

Homograph

Homograph is a word that is same in written form (spelled alike) as another word but with a different meaning, origin, and occasionally pronounced with a different pronunciation

Example: Bow for ship and same word bow for shooting arrows.

Homonym

Homonyms are the words that are spelled alike and have same pronunciation as another word but have a different meaning.

Example: Lead (noun) a material and lead (verb) to guide or direct.

Homophone

Homophones are the words that have same pronunciation as another word but differ in spelling, meaning, and origin.

Example: To, two, and too are homophones.

Hyponym

Hyponym is a word that has more specific meaning than another more general word of which it is an example.

Example: ‘Parrot’ is a hyponym of ‘birds’.

Legalism

Legalism is a type of word that is used in law terminology.

Example: Summon, confess, judiciary

Linker/ conjuncts

Linker or conjuncts are the words or phrase like ‘however’ or ‘what’s more’ that links what has already been written or said to what is following.

Example: however, whereas, moreover.

Loanword/ borrowed

A loanword or borrowed word is a word taken from one language to use it in another language without any change.

Example: The word pizza is taken from Italian language and used in English language

Metonym

Metonym is a word which we use to refer to something else that it is directly related to that.

Example: ‘Islamabad’ is frequently used as a metonym for the Pakistan government.

Monosyllable

Monosyllable is a word that has only one syllable.

Example: Come, go, in, yes, or no are monosyllables.

Polysyllable

Polysyllable is a word that has two or more than two syllables.

Example: Interwoven, something or language are polysyllables.

Rhyme

Rhyme is a type of word used in poetry that ends with similar sound as the other words in stanza.

Example; good, wood, should, could.

Synonym

Synonym is a word that has similar meaning as another word.

Example: ‘happiness’ is a synonym for ‘joy’.

Источник

Noun

How do you spell that word?

“Please” is a useful word.

Our teacher often used words I didn’t know.

What is the French word for car?

Describe the experience in your own words.

The lawyer used Joe’s words against him.

She gave the word to begin.

We will wait for your word before we serve dinner.

Verb

Could we word the headline differently?

tried to word the declaration exactly right

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite the red flags, hundreds of investors were receiving their dividends on time and word was spreading.

—Lizzie Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Feb. 2023

For Lin, surviving sepsis left him determined to make sure that the word gets out about sepsis — and not just in English.

—Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2023

Hayes became the first woman to earn the honor in 1977, earning the title after her Grammy win for best spoken word recording for Great American Documents.

—Grace Gavilanes, Peoplemag, 5 Feb. 2023

The Clue: This word starts with a consonant and ends with a vowel.

—Erik Kain, Forbes, 4 Feb. 2023

The word comes in the wake a ransomware attack that diverted attention from the company’s plans to address lagging profitability.

—Eric Killelea, San Antonio Express-News, 4 Feb. 2023

Because such people possessed no special skill or status, the word gradually fell into disrepute.

—San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2023

Detroit police on Monday called for help from the public – a week after Kemp on Jan. 23 reported Kelly missing and began spreading the word via social media and notifying news outlets.

—Andrea May Sahouri, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2023

The word Tuesday was that more than 12,000 tickets had been sold.

—Mark Stewart, Journal Sentinel, 3 Feb. 2023

Make sure to word your instructions carefully.

—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2023

How is the city’s referendum worded?

—Jim Riccioli, Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2023

In addition, how a query was worded influenced the accuracy of the model’s response.

—Stephen Ornes, Quanta Magazine, 16 Mar. 2023

The players all share a loose but focused way about them, words infielder David Fletcher used to describe the clubhouse.

—Sarah Valenzuela, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2023

The problem was that a news event happens, some real concrete event happens in the real world, and then it is passed on as information through various news outlets, each one spinning it or at least wording it in a way that aligned to either their core agenda or to the likings of their audience.

—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Oct. 2020

At each stage, MyPerfectResume offers suggestions on what content to include and how to word it for the best results.

—Dallas News, 4 Oct. 2022

Your doctor may know how to word a letter that makes clear your medical need for accommodation without giving unnecessary detail.

—Karla L. Miller, Washington Post, 30 June 2022

Gerritson said the new standards simply re-word the old standards.

—Trisha Powell Crain | Tcrain@al.com, al, 29 Mar. 2022

See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘word.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Источник

Word: The Definition & Criteria

In traditional grammar, word is the basic unit of language. Words can be classified according to their action and meaning, but it is challenging to define.

A word refers to a speech sound, or a mixture of two or more speech sounds in both written and verbal form of language. A word works as a symbol to represent/refer to something/someone in language to communicate a specific meaning.

Example : ‘love’, ‘cricket’, ‘sky’ etc.

«[A word is the] smallest unit of grammar that can stand alone as a complete utterance, separated by spaces in written language and potentially by pauses in speech.» (David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2003)

Morphology, a branch of linguistics, studies the formation of words. The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words is called lexical semantics.

See More:

Online English Grammar Course

Free Online Exercise of English Grammar

There are several criteria for a speech sound, or a combination of some speech sounds to be called a word.

There must be a potential pause in speech and a space in written form between two words.
For instance, suppose ‘ball’ and ‘bat’ are two different words. So, if we use them in a sentence, we must have a potential pause after pronouncing each of them. It cannot be like “Idonotplaywithbatball.” If we take pause, these sounds can be regarded as seven distinct words which are ‘I,’ ‘do,’ ‘not,’ ‘play,’ ‘with,’ ‘bat,’ and ‘ball.’
Every word must contain at least one root. If you break this root, it cannot be a word anymore.
For example, the word ‘unfaithful’ has a root ‘faith.’ If we break ‘faith’ into ‘fa’ and ‘ith,’ these sounds will not be regarded as words.
Every word must have a meaning.
For example, the sound ‘lakkanah’ has no meaning in the English language. So, it cannot be an English word.

Источник

What is a word?
Rules/Conditions for word
- Rule 1: Every word should have some potential pause in between the speech and space should be given in between while writing.
- Rule 2: Every word in English grammar must contain at least one root word.
- Rule 3: Every word you want to use should have some meaning.
More examples of Word
Quiz Time! (Test your knowledge here)
- #1. Is cat a word? State true or false.
- #2. A group of words can make a ___________.
- #3. A word is a _____________.
- #4. The word is the largest unit in the language. Is it true or false?
- #5. The meaning of words can be studied with ___________.
- #6. A root word is a word that _____________.
- #7. A word can be ____________.
- #8. Morphology is a branch of ___________.
- #9. A word is usually a speech sound or mixture of it. Is it true or false?
- #10. The structure of words can be studied with ___________.
Results
Summary: (What is a word?)

According to traditional grammar, a word is defined as, “the basic unit of language”. The word is usually a speech sound or mixture of sounds which is represented in speaking and writing.

Few examples of words are fan, cat, building, scooter, kite, gun, jug, pen, dog, chair, tree, football, sky, etc.

You can also define it as, “a letter or group/set of letters which has some meaning”. So, therefore the words are classified according to their meaning and action.

It works as a symbol to represent/refer to something/someone in the language.

The group of words makes a sentence. These sentences contain different types of functions (of the words) in it.

The structure (formation) of words can be studied with Morphology which is usually a branch (part) of linguistics.

The meaning of words can be studied with Lexical semantics which is also a branch (part) of linguistics.

Also Read: What is a Sentence in English Grammar? | Best Guide for 2021

The word can be used in many ways. Few of them are mentioned below.

Noun (rabbit, ring, pencil, US, etc)

Pronoun (he, she, it, we, they, etc)
Adjective (big, small, fast, slow, etc)
Verb (jumping, singing, dancing, etc)
Adverb (slowly, fastly, smoothly, etc)
Preposition (in, on, into, for, under, etc)
Conjunction (and, or, but, etc)

Subject (in the sentences)
Verb and many more!

Now, let us understand the basic rules of the words.

Rules/Conditions for word

There are some set of rules (criteria) in the English Language which describes the basic necessity of becoming a proper word.

Rule 1: Every word should have some potential pause in between the speech and space should be given in between while writing.

For example, consider the two words like “football” and “match” which are two different words. So, if you want to use them in a sentence, you need to give a pause in between the words for pronouncing.

It cannot be like “Iwanttowatchafootballmatch” which is very difficult to read (without spaces).

But, if you give pause between the words while reading like, “I”, “want”, “to”, “watch”, “a”, “football”, “match”.

Example Sentence: I want to watch a football match.

We can observe that the above sentence can be read more conveniently and it is the only correct way to read, speak and write.

Incorrect: Iwanttowatchafootballmatch.
Correct: I want to watch a football match.

So, always remember that pauses and spaces should be there in between the words.

Rule 2: Every word in English grammar must contain at least one root word.

The root word is a basic word which has meaning in it. But if we further break down the words, then it can’t be a word anymore and it also doesn’t have any meaning in it.

So, let us consider the above example which is “football”. If we break this word further, (such as “foot” + “ball”), we can observe that it has some meaning (even after breaking down).

Now if we further break down the above two words (“foot” + “ball”) like “fo” + “ot” and “ba” + “ll”, then we can observe that the words which are divided have no meaning to it.

So, always you need to remember that the word should have atleast one root word.

Rule 3: Every word you want to use should have some meaning.

Yes, you heard it right!

We know that there are many words in the English Language. If you have any doubt or don’t know the meaning of it, then you can check in the dictionary.

But there are also words which are not defined in the English Language. Many words don’t have any meaning.

So, you need to use only the words which have some meaning in it.

For example, consider the words “Nuculer” and “lakkanah” are not defined in English Language and doesn’t have any meaning.

Always remember that not every word in the language have some meaning to it.

Also Read: 12 Rules of Grammar | (Grammar Basic Rules with examples)

More examples of Word

Words List	Words List
apple	ice
aeroplane	jam
bat	king
biscuit	life
cap	mango
doll	nest
eagle	orange
fish	pride
grapes	raincoat
happy	sad

Quiz Time! (Test your knowledge here)

#1. A word can be ____________.

all of the above

a noun

an adjective

a verb

Answer: A word can be a noun, verb, adjective, preposition, etc.

#2. A root word is a word that _____________.

none

can be divided further

cannot be divided further

both

Answer: A root word is a word that cannot be divided further.

#3. A group of words can make a ___________.

none

sentence

letters

words

Answer: A group of words can make a sentence.

#4. Morphology is a branch of ___________.

none

Linguistics

Phonology

Semantics

Answer: Morphology is a branch of Linguistics.

#5. The meaning of words can be studied with ___________.

none

both

Morphology

Lexical semantics

Answer: The meaning of the words can be studied with Lexical semantics.

#6. The word is the largest unit in the language. Is it true or false?

#7. Is cat a word? State true or false.

Answer: “Cat” is a word.

#8. A word is a _____________.

group of paragraphs

group of letters

group of sentences

All of the above

Answer: A word is a group of letters which delivers a message or an idea.

#9. A word is usually a speech sound or mixture of it. Is it true or false?

#10. The structure of words can be studied with ___________.

Morphology

both

Lexical semantics

none

Answer: The structure of words can be studied with Morphology.

Results

—

Hurray….. You have passed this test! 🙂

Congratulations on completing the quiz. We are happy that you have understood this topic very well.

If you want to try again, you can start this quiz by refreshing this page.

Otherwise, you can visit the next topic 🙂

Oh, sorry about that. You didn’t pass this test! 🙁

Please read the topic carefully and try again.

Summary: (What is a word?)

(What is a word?)

Generally, the word is the basic and smallest unit in the language.
It is categorised based on its meaning.
Morphology is the study of Words structure (formation) and Lexical semantics is the study of meanings of the words. These both belong to a branch of Linguistics.

A word should have at least one root and meaning to it.

Also Read: What is Grammar? | (Grammar definition, types & examples) | Best Guide 2021

If you are interested to learn more, then you can refer wikipedia from here.

I hope that you understood the topic “What is a word?”. If you still have any doubts, then comment down below and we will respond as soon as possible. Thank You.

Источник