In English grammar, a base is the form of a word to which prefixes and suffixes can be added to create new words. For example, instruct is the base for forming instruction, instructor, and reinstruct. Also called a root or stem.
Put another way, base forms are words that are not derived from or made up of other words. According to Ingo Plag, «The term ‘root’ is used when we want to explicitly refer to the indivisible central part of a complex word. In all other cases, where the status of a form as indivisible or not is not an issue, we can just speak of bases (or, if the base is a word, base words)» (Word-Formation in English, 2003).
Examples and Observations
«In most situations, the user of English has no problem at all recognizing prefixes, bases, and suffixes. For instance, in the sentence, ‘They repainted the old car,’ the complex word repainted obviously has three elements—a prefix, a base, and a suffix: re + paint + ed. The base paint is the word’s semantic core, the starting place for describing what the word is being used to mean in a given utterance. The prefix and suffix add semantic content to that core, the prefix re adding the content ‘again,’ and the suffix ed adding ‘in the past.'» (D. W. Cummings, American English Spelling. JHU Press, 1988)
Base Forms and Word Roots
«[The term base] refers to any part of a word seen as a unit to which an operation can be applied, as when one adds an affix to a root or stem. For example, in unhappy the base form is happy; if -ness is then added to unhappy, the whole of this item would be considered the base to which the new affix is attached. Some analysts, however, restrict the term ‘base’ to be equivalent to ‘root,’ the part of a word remaining when all affixes have been removed. In such an approach, happy would be the base form (the highest common factor) of all its derivations—
happiness, unhappy, unhappiness, etc. This meaning leads to a special use in prosodic morphology to define the portion of the output in correspondence with another portion of the form, especially the reduplicant.» (David Crystal, Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 6th ed. Blackwell, 2008)
Citation Forms
«For adjectives, e.g. bad, the base form is the so-called ‘absolute’ form (as against the comparative form worse, or the superlative form worst). For other word classes, e.g. adverb or preposition, where there are no grammatical variants, there is only one form that can be the headword.
«These base forms of words, the headwords of dictionary entries, may be termed the citation forms of lexemes. When we want to talk about the lexeme sing, then the form that we cite (i.e. ‘quote’) is the base form—as I have just done—and that is taken to include all the grammatical variants (sings, singing, sang, sung).» (Howard Jackson, Words and Their Meaning. Routledge, 2013)
Bases in Complex Words
«Another classic problem of morphology [is] the case of a complex word with a recognizable suffix or prefix, attached to a base that is not an existing word of the language. For example, among the -able words are words such as malleable and feasible. In both cases the suffix -able (spelled -ible in the second case because of a different historical origin for the suffix) has the regular meaning ‘be able,’ and in both cases the -ity form is possible (mealleability and feasibility). We have no reason to suspect that able/ible here is not the real suffix -able. Yet if it is, then malleable must be broken down as malle + able and feasible as feas + ible; but there are no existing words (free morphemes) in English such as malle or feas, or even malley or fease. We thus have to allow for the existence of a complex word whose base exists only in that complex word . . ..» (A. Akmajian, R. A. Demers, A. K. Farmer, R. M. Harnish, Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication. MIT, 2001)
Base words are words that exist as recognizable words in the English language. These words cannot be divided into smaller units. Prefixes and suffixes can be added to these words to create new words. There are two theories about root words. Some people use the term root word as a synonym for the base word. However, in some contexts, root words refer to the part of the base word that comes from another language. This article will mainly focus on this second meaning. The key difference between base word and root word is that base words are recognizable words in the English language whereas root words are from another language.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Base Word
3. What is a Root Word
5. Side by Side Comparison – Base Word vs Root Word in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is a Base Word?
There are two types of words in the English language: the words that can be broken down into smaller units and words that cannot be broken down into smaller units. Words that cannot be broken down into smaller units are known as base words. In other words, base word is the base form of a word and gives its basic meaning. For example, let’s look at the two words happy and unhappy. The word happy cannot be broken down into smaller units, but unhappy can be broken down into two units since this word is made by adding the prefix un to the base word happy. Prefixes and suffixes are always added to base words.
Prefixes and Suffixes
- Prefix is a word element is found in front of a base word.
- Suffix is a word element is found after a base word.
Look at the following words and see if you can identify the base word by removing the suffixes and prefixes.
Reusable, disappear, unhappiness, unacceptable, disqualified, childish, unlikely, reinvention
The base words of the above list are underlined in the following section.
- Reusable – re + use + able
- Disappear – dis + appear
- Unhappiness – un + happy + ness
- Unacceptable – un + accept + ble
- Disqualified – dis + qualify + ed
- Childish – child + ish
- Unlikely – un + like + ly
- Reinvention – re + invent + ion
What is a Root Word?
In linguistics, the term root word is often used synonymously with base word, and refers to a morpheme from which words have been created by the addition of prefixes or suffixes. For example, the word transportation is formed from the root word transport.
However, the term root word also refers to the origin of the word. In this sense, root word is the part of the base word that comes from another language. For example, the word maternal comes from Latin mater and gives the meaning mother. So, this Latin word, mater can be considered as the root word of maternal. The root words of words like maternity, maternally, maternalism, etc. is also the Latin word mater.
Examples of Base Words and Root Words
Let’s look at some other examples to understand the meaning of base words and root words more clearly.
- Tricycle
Base word = cycle, Root word = Latin cyclus (circle)
- Transportation
Base word = transport, Root word = Latin port (to carry)
- Immoderately
Base word = moderate, Root word = Latin moderatus (reduced, controlled)
What is the Difference Between Base Word and Root Word?
Base Word vs Root Word |
|
| Base Word is a morpheme from which words have been created by the addition of prefixes or suffixes. | Root word is the part of the base word that comes from another language. |
| Individual Meaning | |
| Base word can stand alone. | Root word cannot often stand alone. |
| Nature | |
| Base words cannot be further divided. | Root word comes from another language. |
Summary – Base Word vs Root Word
Base word is a form of a word to which affixes can be added to create new words. Base words and root words are two terms that are sometimes used as synonyms. However, root words are also defined as parts of the base word that come from another language. This is the difference between base word and root word.
Download PDF Version of Base Word vs Root Word
You can download PDF version of this article and use it for offline purposes as per citation note. Please download PDF version here Difference Between Base Word and Root Word
References:
1. Merrell, Shelly. “Base Words: Definition & Examples.” Study.com, Available here.
2. Nordquist, Richard. “Base Forms of Words in English.” ThoughtCo, Available here.
Table of Contents
- What is the base form of know?
- What’s the base word?
- What is the base word of better?
- What is a fancy word for better?
- What’s a fancy word for better?
- Is Betterer a word?
- Who better than in a sentence?
- Is bettered a real word?
- What’s a word for bettering yourself?
- What is a meta?
- What does bettering mean?
- What does it mean to be vetted?
- What does battering mean?
- What is romping slang for?
- Why is it called a battering ram?
- What does bartered mean?
- What is barter system in one word?
- Is barter a bad word?
- What is haughty?
- What does the phrase hoity toity mean?
- What is Hotsy Totsy slang for?
- Is toity a word?
- Is hoity a Scrabble word?
In English grammar, a base is the form of a word to which prefixes and suffixes can be added to create new words. For example, instruct is the base for forming instruction, instructor, and reinstruct. Also called a root or stem. Put another way, base forms are words that are not derived from or made up of other words.
What is the base form of know?
Conjugation of ‘Know’
| Base Form (Infinitive): | Know |
|---|---|
| Past Simple: | Knew |
| Past Participle: | Known |
| 3rd Person Singular: | Knows |
| Present Participle/Gerund: | Knowing |
What’s the base word?
What is a Base Word? The part of the word that cannot be broken down is called a base word, also known as a root word. The base word gives the word its basic meaning. Sometimes, base words have a prefix, which is a letter or letters added to the beginning, or a suffix, which is a letter or letters added to the end.
What is the base word of better?
The word better has more specific senses as an adjective, adverb, and a verb. As an adjective, the word better is a comparative of the word good, with the superlative being best.
What is a fancy word for better?
Frequently Asked Questions About better Some common synonyms of better are ameliorate, help, and improve.
What’s a fancy word for better?
What is another word for better?
| superior | finer |
|---|---|
| wonderfuller | higher-grade |
| higher-calibre | improved |
| grander | enhanced |
| more desirable | more valuable |
Is Betterer a word?
(nonstandard) Comparative form of better: more better.
Who better than in a sentence?
Sentence examples for who better than from inspiring English sources. And who better than Native Tongues member and Queen Latifah protégé, Monie Love? Who better than youth? And who better than themselves?
Is bettered a real word?
Meaning of bettered in English to improve a situation: The organization was established to better conditions for the disabled.
What’s a word for bettering yourself?
What is another word for better oneself?
| rise | advance |
|---|---|
| succeed | work one’s way up |
| prosper | thrive |
| get ahead | do well |
| bloom | burgeon |
Meta can be used as an acronym for “most effective tactics available,” and calling something “meta” means that it’s an effective way to achieve the goal of the game, whether it’s to beat other players or beat the game itself.
What does bettering mean?
to improve a situation
What does it mean to be vetted?
Vetting is the process of thoroughly investigating an individual, company, or other entity before making a decision to go forward with a joint project. A background review is a vetting process.
What does battering mean?
being hit many times
What is romping slang for?
(slang) To engage in playful or boisterous sex. verb.
Why is it called a battering ram?
The Battering Ram was used to literally ‘batter’ down, pound, punch and shake castle gates, doors and walls! Huge tree trunks were used to construct a battering ram which were often fitted with a metal head and supported by metal bands.
What does bartered mean?
Barter is an act of trading goods or services between two or more parties without the use of money —or a monetary medium, such as a credit card. In essence, bartering involves the provision of one good or service by one party in return for another good or service from another party.
What is barter system in one word?
bär’tər. Filters. The definition of barter is a system under which goods and services are exchanged instead of currency, or the actual goods or services that are being exchanged. An example of barter is when the people within a community exchange goods and services so that money needn’t be used.
Is barter a bad word?
Barter is characterized in Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” by a disparaging vocabulary: “haggling, swapping, dickering.” It has also been characterized as negative reciprocity, or “selfish profiteering.”
What is haughty?
: blatantly and disdainfully proud : having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempt for people or things perceived to be inferior haughty aristocrats haughty young beauty …
What does the phrase hoity toity mean?
adjective. Definition of hoity-toity (Entry 2 of 2) 1 : thoughtlessly silly or frivolous : flighty. 2 : marked by an air of assumed importance : highfalutin a hoity-toity college professor The restaurant was too hoity-toity for my tastes.
What is Hotsy Totsy slang for?
slang. : comfortably stable or secure : perfect, ok had a quarrel, but everything is hotsy-totsy now.
Is toity a word?
No, toity is not in the scrabble dictionary.
Is hoity a Scrabble word?
No, hoity-toity is not in the scrabble dictionary.
Teachers frequently debate this question: What’s the difference between a root, base word, and stem? The reason teachers are forced to debate this question is that their textbooks present a model that quickly falls apart in the real world.
If teachers are confused, their students will also be confused. By the end of this page, you won’t be confused. To end this confusion, we will look at two systems:
1. The Traditional Root and Base-Word System for Kids
2. A Modern System of Morphemes, Roots, Bases, and Stems from Linguistics
The Traditional Root and Base-Word System for Kids
Here is a problem-filled system that, unfortunately, some students still learn.
Students learn that ROOTS are Greek and Latin roots. Most of these roots cannot stand alone as words when we remove the prefixes and suffixes.
Q e.g., Word: justify Latin Root: jus (law)
Students also learn that BASE WORDS can stand alone as words when we remove all of the prefixes and suffixes. Students learn that if it cannot stand alone when we remove all of the prefixes and suffixes, then it is not a base word.
Q e.g., Word: kindness Base Word: kind
The problem comes later in the day when the teacher is teaching verb tenses.
Q Teacher: Look at these two verbs: responded and responding. What’s the base word?
Q Student #1: Respond.
Q Teacher: Correct!
Q Student #2: Isn’t re- a prefix? If re- is a prefix, then respond can’t be a base word. I suspect that spond is a Latin root. Is it?
Q Teacher: I’m not sure. Let me research this. Yes, the word respond has the prefix re- attached to the Latin root spond. The Latin root spond comes from sponder, which means to pledge.
Although the teacher was looking for the answer “respond,” Student #2’s answer was the correct answer according to this Traditional System. That’s how easily the Traditional System falls apart. And the problems get worse from here.
Are you an elementary or middle school teacher? Have you taken a look at Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay on the homepage?
Modern Linguistics
I looked at a few current student textbooks from major publishers, and most of them don’t mention the terms base or base word. They only use the term root in their basic word studies. I suspect that this is because modern linguistics has created a new meaning for the term base.
In case you are not aware, modern linguistics and modern grammar fix many of the broken models from centuries past—i.e., models and definitions that quickly fall apart when you question them. These days, most books on linguistics and morphology present a somewhat standardized model. In English Word-Formation (1983), Laurie Bauer explains this model succinctly and definitively. Let’s take a look.
English Word-Formation (1983) by Laurie Bauer
As you can see below, Bauer acknowledges the root/stem/base problem and then explains a model that removes the ambiguity.
The Problem: “‘Root’, ‘stem’ and ‘base’ are all terms used in the literature to designate that part of a word that remains when all affixes have been removed. Of more recent years, however, there has been some attempt to distinguish consistently between these three terms.”
Root: “A root is a form which is not further analysable, either in terms of derivational or inflectional morphology. It is that part of word-form that remains when all inflectional and derivational affixes have been removed… In the form ‘untouchables’ the root is ‘touch’.”
Stem: “A stem is of concern only when dealing with inflectional morphology. In the form ‘untouchables’ the stem is ‘untouchable’.” [In short, when you remove the inflectional suffixes, you have the stem.]
Base: “A base is any form to which affixes of any kind can be added. This means that any root or any stem can be termed a base… ‘touchable’ can act as a base for prefixation to give ‘untouchable’.”
This model holds up across the curriculum. This model is the foundation of what I teach my students.
My Perfect Model: Roots, Stems, and Bases
I always like to have a complete model in mind that holds up across the curriculum. This lets me find teaching moments and ensures that I can answer my students’ questions clearly and consistently. Although I may not teach my students the entire model, at least the concepts are straight in my mind.
For this reason, I created this “Perfect Model of Roots, Stems, and Bases.” To be clear, this model is an interpretation and fuller explanation of what you might find in a linguistics book. Let me explain it to you. It all begins with morphemes.
Keep in mind that teachers don’t need to teach their students this entire model. In fact, most teachers will want to keep their morphology lessons simple and focus on roots, prefixes, and suffixes. But all teachers will want to understand this entire model.
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Morphemes
The term morpheme unifies the concepts of roots, prefixes, and suffixes, and therefore, it is an extremely valuable word. In short, words are composed of parts called morphemes, and each morpheme contributes meaning to the word. Morphemes are the smallest unit of language that contains meaning. Roots, prefixes, and suffixes all have one thing in common—they are all single morphemes. In contrast, stems and bases can be composed of one or many morphemes.
Root / Root Morpheme
When I use the term root, I always mean the root morpheme. The root is always the main morpheme that carries the main meaning of a word. Since a morpheme is the smallest unit of language that contains meaning, we can’t divide or analyze the root morpheme any further. Although a root can be a stand-alone word, to avoid confusion, I never use the term “root word.” I use the term root, and I use the term root morpheme to reinforce what a root is.
We have two types of root morphemes:
1. Dependent (bound) Roots: These roots cannot stand alone as words. These roots are usually Greek and Latin roots. Here are a few examples:
-
- liberty root: liber (free)
- interrupt root: rupt (break)
- similar root: sim (like)
2. Independent (free) Roots: These roots are stand-alone words. Practically speaking, these roots are almost always single-syllable words. You know the ones. It seems to me that most multi-syllable words can be further divided and further analyzed. With a little research, one finds that an ancient prefix or suffix has merged with a root. In short, most multi-syllable words are not root morphemes.
Here is what they thought 150 years ago. Although modern linguistics does not agree with these statements, it’s still food for thought. My point is that most of the independent roots that we deal with inside of the classroom are single-syllable words.
Q “All languages are formed from roots of one syllable.” – New Englander Magazine (1862)
Q “All words of all languages can be reduced to one-syllable roots.” – New Jerusalem Magazine (1853)
Here are a few examples:
-
- replaced root: place
- mindfulness root: mind
- carefully root: care
The Terms: Dependent Root and Independent Root
Modern linguistics use the term bound (for dependent) and free (for independent) to classify morphemes. Since teachers spend so much time teaching students about dependent clauses and independent clauses, I transfer this knowledge and terminology over to morphemes. Put simply: independent morphemes CAN stand alone; dependent morphemes CAN’T stand alone.
Q PREFIXES and SUFFIXES are almost always dependent morphemes—i.e., they can’t stand alone as words.
Q ROOTS are either dependent or independent morphemes.
Now, we will examine words that contain one root and words that contain two roots. As you examine these words, pay special attention to the dependent root and independent root aspect.
One Root: Many words have just one root. That one root may be a Dependent Root or an Independent Root. Remember, the root carries the main meaning of the word.
Q Word: justify Dependent Root: jus
Q Word: kindness Independent Root: kind
Two Roots: Some words have two roots. The roots may be Dependent Roots or Independent Roots. With two roots, each root contributes near equal meaning to the word.
Two Dependent Roots
Q Word: geography Dependent Root: geo (earth) Root: graph (write)
Q Word: carnivore Dependent Root: carn (flesh) Dependent Root: vor (swallow)
Q Word: cardiovascular Dependent Root: cardi (heart) Dependent Root: vas (vessel)
Two Independent Roots
Q Word: bathroom Independent Root: bath Independent Root: room
Q Word: downfall Independent Root: down Independent Root: fall
Q Word: popcorn Independent Root: pop Independent Root: corn
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Stem
I use the term stem just as Bauer does. To find the stem, simply remove the inflectional suffixes. It’s that simple.
When to Use the Term Stem: The term stem is quite unnecessary in many classrooms, as all stems are bases. For this reason, teachers can always use the term base instead of stem. However, the concept of stems is helpful in teaching students about inflectional suffixes. Inflectional suffixes are different from derivational affixes (derivational prefixes and derivational suffixes).
Q Word: reddest Stem: red
Q Word: girls’ Stem: girl
Q Word: boats Stem: boat
Q Word: preapproved Stem: preapprove
Q Word: justifying Stem: justify
Q Word: responded Stem: respond
Q Word: unjustifiable Stem: no stem
Q Word: kindness Stem: no stem
Base / Base Word
Bauer says, “A base is any form to which affixes of any kind can be added. This means that any root or any stem can be termed a base.”
In the table below, I use two labels to show how base and root relate to each other. Sometimes a base is a root (marked Q Base/Root), and sometimes it is not a root (marked Q Base).
To be clear, we can add a prefix or suffix to every base even if it already has a prefix or suffix. Furthermore, if we can add a prefix or suffix to something, we can call it a base.
Word: reread Q Base/Root: read
Word: unhelpful Q Base: helpful Q Base/Root: help
Word: justifying Q Base: justify Q Base/Root: jus
Word: unreliable Q Base: reliable Q Base/Root: rely
Word: preponderance Q Base: ponderance (uncommon) Q Base/Root: ponder
Word: responded Q Base: respond Q Base/Root: spond
Word: preapproved Q Base: preapprove Q Base: approve Q Base: approved Q Base: proved Q Base/Root: prove
Base vs. Base Word: To keep things simple, teachers should probably strike the term “base word” from their vocabulary. However, if the base is a complete word that can stand alone, teachers may choose to (or through force of habit) refer to it as a base word. If the base can’t stand alone, be sure not to call it a base word.
When to Use the Term Base: The term base is somewhat of a generic term for when we are not interested in or concerned with the root morpheme. As an example, we may choose to use the term base when we are ADDING prefixes and suffixes. When we are adding prefixes and suffixes, we often are unconcerned with finding or discussing the root morpheme. (Remember, we often add prefixes and suffixes to words that already contain prefixes and suffixes.) We may also choose to use the term base when removing a single, specific prefix or suffix, as the word may still contain other prefixes or suffixes.
Putting It All Together
Here is a table to help get you started in your word analysis studies related to root, stem, and base.
| Example Word | Stem | Root: Dependent | Root: Independent | Base |
| 1. undeniable | deny ** | deny; deniable | ||
| 2. reinvented | reinvent | ven/vent | ven/vent; invent; reinvent | |
| 3. deforestation | forest *** | forest; forestation | ||
| 4. interacted | interact | act * | act; interact | |
| 5. demographics | demographic | demo | graph * | demo; graph; demographic |
| 6. responding | respond | spond | spond; respond | |
| 7. preserving | preserve | serv | serv; preserve | |
| 8. hopefully | hope | hope; hopeful |
The Asterisks: The asterisks may be the most important part of this table. They help illustrate that every word has a unique history that often makes analysis and classification complicated and debatable.
* act and graph are also Latin roots
** deny is from Latin denegare = de (away) + negare (to refuse; to say no); since deny technically
has a Latin prefix (de-), you may choose to classify the word differently.
*** forest is from Latin foris meaning outdoors, and unlike the word deny, cannot be analyzed as
having a prefix or suffix attached.
• Categorized under Language | Difference Between Root and Base Word
Root vs Base Word
A word can be simple or complex. In its simplest form, it can have a definite meaning. When combined with other words, it can form new words that may or may not have similar meanings as the original word which can either be a root word or a base word.
A root word is the primary form of a word which can either be free morphemes or bound morphemes. Free morphemes are words that can stand alone or that can appear with other words while bound morphemes are prefixes and suffixes that appear with other morphemes to form a word.
A root word may be a word that has a meaning or one that does not have a meaning. It is the term that a certain word comes from originally and is a word’s basic linguistic unit. It may come from several different languages like Greek and Latin.
Affixes are usually added to root words in order to create new words. In words that have two or more syllables, there is a root word and two or more prefixes or suffixes. The meaning of a word can be easily determined if one knows the root word. Root words are parts of a base word.
A base word is a word that does not have any other words added either at the beginning or its ending. It can stand on its own and has meaning. It is a word that is easily apparent in every language and is a word in its simplest form.
It can be modified by adding suffixes and prefixes to form new words with related meanings although it can have a meaning on its own. Take the word “cycle” for example. It means “wheel.” And if the prefix “bi” is added, it forms the word “bicycle” which means “two wheels.”
It can be further modified by adding the suffix “ist” which means “doer” in order to form the word “cyclist” which means “one who rides a bicycle.” Its root word is the Greek word “kyklos” which means “disk, wheel, or ring” which in turn evolved into the Latin “cyclus” then the Middle English “cicle.”
Root words and base words are stem words. They form the base of other words which are created after affixes are added. The word “act” is a stem word which is also a base word as it can stand on its own. Adding the prefix “counter” would form the new word “counteract” which has an opposite meaning to the base word. Its root word is the Latin “actus.”
Summary
1.A root word is the primary form of a word while a base word is a word that can stand on its own.
2.A root word may or may not have a meaning while a base word has a meaning on its own.
3.New words can be formed using root words and base words by adding suffixes or prefixes, and several affixes can be added to root words for it to have a meaning.
4.A root word is the basic linguistic unit, and it is the original form of a word while a base word is a word in its simplest form.
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M, E. (2016, June 8). Difference Between Root and Base Word. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-root-and-base-word/.
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M, Emelda. «Difference Between Root and Base Word.» Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects, 8 June, 2016, http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-root-and-base-word/.
Written by : Emelda M.
and updated on 2016, June 8
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In traditional grammar, word is the basic unit of language.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.
Contents
- 1 What is word and its example?
- 2 What is word and its types?
- 3 What is word linguistics?
- 4 What is the meaning of word?
- 5 What are words called?
- 6 What is word in language?
- 7 What is a word class in grammar?
- 8 Why do we define words?
- 9 Why do we say word?
- 10 What is morpheme and word?
- 11 What is word Slideshare?
- 12 Is word a noun or verb?
- 13 What are the parts of a word?
- 14 What is word Wikipedia?
- 15 What type of word is there?
- 16 What is word boundaries?
- 17 What is called sentence?
- 18 Is your name a word?
- 19 What are the 4 main word classes?
- 20 What is word class in syntax?
What is word and its example?
The definition of a word is a letter or group of letters that has meaning when spoken or written. An example of a word is dog.An example of words are the seventeen sets of letters that are written to form this sentence.
What is word and its types?
There are eight types of words that are often referred to as ‘word classes’ or ‘parts of speech’ and are commonly distinguished in English: nouns, determiners, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions.These are the different types of words in the English language.
What is word linguistics?
In linguistics, a word of a spoken language can be defined as the smallest sequence of phonemes that can be uttered in isolation with objective or practical meaning.In many languages, the notion of what constitutes a “word” may be learned as part of learning the writing system.
What is the meaning of word?
1 : a sound or combination of sounds that has meaning and is spoken by a human being. 2 : a written or printed letter or letters standing for a spoken word. 3 : a brief remark or conversation I’d like a word with you.
What are words called?
All words belong to categories called word classes (or parts of speech) according to the part they play in a sentence. The main word classes in English are listed below. Noun. Verb. Adjective.
What is word in language?
A word is a speech sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or a combination of morphemes. The branch of linguistics that studies word structures is called morphology.
A word class is a group of words that have the same basic behaviour, for example nouns, adjectives, or verbs.
Why do we define words?
The definition of definition is “a statement expressing the essential nature of something.” At least that’s one way Webster defines the word.Because definitions enable us to have a common understanding of a word or subject; they allow us to all be on the same page when discussing or reading about an issue.
Why do we say word?
‘Word’ in slang is a word one would use to indicate acknowledgement, approval, recognition or affirmation, of something somebody else just said.
What is morpheme and word?
Word vs Morpheme
A morpheme is usually considered as the smallest element of a word or else a grammar element, whereas a word is a complete meaningful element of language.
What is word Slideshare?
•“A word’ is a free morpheme or a combination of morphemes that together form a basic segment of speech” .
Is word a noun or verb?
word used as a noun:
A distinct unit of language (sounds in speech or written letters) with a particular meaning, composed of one or more morphemes, and also of one or more phonemes that determine its sound pattern. A distinct unit of language which is approved by some authority.
What are the parts of a word?
The parts of a word are called morphemes. These include suffixes, prefixes and root words. Take the word ‘microbiology,’ for example.
What is word Wikipedia?
A word is something spoken by the mouth, that can be pronounced. In alphabetic writing, it is a collection of letters used together to communicate a meaning. These can also usually be pronounced.Some words have different pronunciation, for example, ‘wind’ (the noun) and ‘wind’ (the verb) are pronounced differently.
What type of word is there?
The word “there” have multiple functions. In verbal and written English, the word can be used as an adverb, a pronoun, a noun, an interjection, or an adjective. This word is classified as an adverb if it is used to modify a verb in the sentence.
What is word boundaries?
A word boundary is a zero-width test between two characters. To pass the test, there must be a word character on one side, and a non-word character on the other side. It does not matter which side each character appears on, but there must be one of each.
What is called sentence?
A sentence is a set of words that are put together to mean something. A sentence is the basic unit of language which expresses a complete thought. It does this by following the grammatical basic rules of syntax.A complete sentence has at least a subject and a main verb to state (declare) a complete thought.
Is your name a word?
Yes, names are words. Specifically, they are proper nouns: they refer to specific people, places, or things. “John” is a proper noun; “ground” is a common noun. But both are words.
What are the 4 main word classes?
There are four major word classes: verb, noun, adjective, adverb.
What is word class in syntax?
In English grammar, a word class is a set of words that display the same formal properties, especially their inflections and distribution.It is also variously called grammatical category, lexical category, and syntactic category (although these terms are not wholly or universally synonymous).
We use words constantly to express ourselves and exchange thoughts with others. We write, speak, hear, read, and listen to words. Some research suggests the average person can speak from 4,000 to 7,000 words in a day.
All words have origins that might date from days to millennia since their inception. The English language is about 1,400 years old; one of the earliest-known English dictionaries, The Elementarie (1582), contained 8,000 words. Today’s English dictionaries can include up to hundreds of thousands of them.
Words can be complex or simple. Different word parts also can combine to form new words with new meanings. The root of a word—also referred to by some as a base word—is its primary morpheme, which is the smallest grammatical unit that cannot be divided further into parts. Every word in American English has at least one morpheme.
The grammatical unit can be a free morpheme, which is a word that can stand alone, or a bound morpheme, which is an affix (a prefix or a suffix) that cannot stand alone but can form a word by combining with other morphemes.
More than half of English words have roots in Latin and Greek. Many words also have German, French, and Spanish origins, which often have their own Latin roots as well.
When standing alone, the foreign root words themselves might not always make sense to English writers and speakers, but we can quickly recognize their contributions to our lexicon when they are combined with other word parts.
| Root | Meaning | Origin | Word |
| carn | flesh or meat | Latin | carnal, carnivore |
| deca | ten (10) | Latin | decade, decameter |
| tele | distant | Greek | telephone, telegram |
| mal | bad, evil | Latin | malice, malpractice |
| psycho | soul, spirit | Greek | psychic, psychology |
In our contemporary English vocabulary, we can readily infer the different parts of words, including their roots and prefixes or suffixes.
| Word | Root | Prefix | Suffix |
| unkindness | kind | un- | -ness |
| action | act | -ion | |
| misplayed | play | mis- | -ed |
| fearless | fear | -less |
Word Roots in Different Parts of Speech
You may have noticed that roots appear in parts of speech other than nouns. They also apply to verbs, adverbs, and adjectives, as in the following recognizable English words.
| Word | Part of Speech | Root | Prefix | Suffix |
| description | noun | script | de- | -ion |
| disappear | verb | appear | dis- | |
| nicest | adjective | nice | -est | |
| aimlessly | adverb | aim | -less, -ly |
Those familiar with English know that in the preceding words, the root has an understood meaning, and the prefixes and suffixes offer much less meaning to us without the root. When combined, however, they form a word that can express.
Let’s look at a few more words with Greek and Latin roots:
| Word | Part of Speech | Root | Origin |
| bibliophile | noun | biblio (book), phil (love) | Greek |
| (to) chronicle | verb | chrono (time) | Greek |
| benevolent | adjective | bene (good) | Latin |
| ambiguously | adverb | ambi (both) | Latin |
Word Roots for Expanding Vocabulary
Being familiar with word roots and how words originate becomes a versatile tool in building vocabulary and interpreting unfamiliar words.
For example, many versed in English recognize that the Greek root “phobia” stands for “fear.” Sometimes that root is attached to prefixes we readily know, such as with claustrophobia (fear of small, confined spaces) and arachnophobia (fear of spiders).
We also might encounter words such as demophobia (fear of crowds) and anthrophobia (fear of flowers). We might not instantly recognize the fear the prefix identifies, but because we understand the word root, we’re halfway to comprehension.
Understanding roots also helps to better deconstruct words. For example, uncharacteristically is a 20-letter adverb common to English vernacular that means “not consistent with established or expected qualities or attributes” (e.g., James is uncharacteristically late).
This word contains four parts (morphemes): character (root, free morpheme), un- (prefix, bound morpheme), -istic (suffix, bound morpheme), and -ally (suffix, bound morpheme). Breaking the full word down this way can simplify the spelling of it as well as our initial insight into its meaning, even if we understand only a couple of parts as opposed to all of them.
(Character stems from the Greek charassein: “to sharpen, cut in furrows, or engrave.” This word also gave the Greeks charaktēr: “a mark; a distinctive quality,” a meaning the Latin character shared. English adopted character in the 14th century to express “a distinctive differentiating mark” as one of the word’s earliest English meanings.)
Word Roots and Affixes for Word-Count Reduction
Understanding word roots and their conjoining parts further can support written precision by allowing us to reduce word count.
Examples
against the establishment > anti-establishment (three words to one word with three morphemes: anti-, establish, -ment)
to act against > counteract (three words to one word with two morphemes: counter-, act)
Shelly is the one who can run with more speed than any other runner on the team >
Shelly is the fastest runner on the team (Seventeen words to eight words, achieved mainly by inclusion of fastest, which is one word with two morphemes: fast, -est.)
Related Topic
How Does a Word Become a Word?
Pop Quiz
Applying what we’ve discussed about word roots, identify the root in each following word. Some can be recognizable English words, and others can be from original roots such as Latin or Greek.
1. international
2. nonexistent
3. contradict
4. enlightenment
5. destruction
Pop Quiz Answers
1. international
2. nonexistent
3. contradict
4. enlightenment
5. destruction
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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
all of the above
a noun
a noun
an adjective
an adjective
a verb
a verb
Answer: A word can be a noun, verb, adjective, preposition, etc.
#2. A root word is a word that _____________.
none
none
can be divided further
can be divided further
cannot be divided further
cannot be divided further
both
both
Answer: A root word is a word that cannot be divided further.
#3. A group of words can make a ___________.
none
none
sentence
sentence
letters
letters
words
words
Answer: A group of words can make a sentence.
#4. Morphology is a branch of ___________.
none
none
Linguistics
Linguistics
Phonology
Phonology
Semantics
Semantics
Answer: Morphology is a branch of Linguistics.
#5. The meaning of words can be studied with ___________.
none
none
both
both
Morphology
Morphology
Lexical semantics
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 paragraphs
group of letters
group of letters
group of sentences
group of sentences
All of the above
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
Morphology
both
both
Lexical semantics
Lexical semantics
none
none
Answer: The structure of words can be studied with Morphology.
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Summary: (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.
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