What is the base meaning of a word

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.Difference Between Base Word and Root Word

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.

  1. Reusable – re + use + able
  2. Disappear – dis + appear
  3. Unhappiness – un + happy + ness
  4. Unacceptable – un + accept + ble
  5. Disqualified – dis + qualify + ed
  6. Childish – child + ish
  7. Unlikely – un + like + ly
  8. 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.

Key Difference - Base Word vs Root Word

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.

  1. Tricycle

Base word = cycle, Root word = Latin cyclus (circle)

  1. Transportation

Base word = transport, Root word = Latin port (to carry)

  1. 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.

Essential Meaning of base. 1 : the bottom or lowest part of something : the part on which something rests or is supported. 2 : something (such as a group of people or things) that provides support for a place, business, etc. 3 : a main ingredient to which other things are added to make something.

What does it mean if something is base?

Essential Meaning of base. 1 : the bottom or lowest part of something : the part on which something rests or is supported. 2 : something (such as a group of people or things) that provides support for a place, business, etc. 3 : a main ingredient to which other things are added to make something.

Where is the base of something? The base of something is usually the foundation, starting point, or main ingredient of something. A soup base is the flavoring or broth you use to get your soup started.

What is a base made up of?

Examples of bases are the hydroxides of the alkali and alkaline earth metals (sodium, calcium, etc.) … and the water solutions of ammonia or its organic derivatives (amines). Such substances produce hydroxide ions (OH-) in water solutions (see Arrhenius theory).

What is a base and examples?

Examples of bases are sodium hydroxide, calcium carbonate and potassium oxide. A base is a substance that can neutralize the acid by reacting with hydrogen ions. Most bases are minerals that react with acids to form water and salts. … Sodium hydroxide is an alkali.

What is base example?

A base word can stand alone and has meaning (for example, help). A suffix is a word part added to the end of a word (for example, -ful). If you add the suffix -ful to the base word, help, the word is helpful. A prefix is a word part added to the beginning of a word or base word (for example, un-).

How do you find the base of a cylinder?

The base area of the cylinder is obtained by multiplying the square of its radius to π. Thus, the formula for the base area of the cylinder, with a radius is r is “πr2”. Base Area of a Cylinder = (π × radius2) square units.

How do you find the base of a box?

To find the base, divide the area by the width.

What liquids are a base?

  • Drain cleaner.
  • Laundry detergent.
  • Lubricating grease.
  • Alkaline batteries.
  • Soaps and bath products.
  • Sugar.
  • Baking soda.

What is another word for base in science?

In chemistry, there are three definitions in common use of the word base, known as Arrhenius bases, Brønsted bases, and Lewis bases.

Which is not an example of a base?

Explanation : Cobalt is not a base instead it is a drier. It is used to absorb oxygen from surroundings and harden the paints.

Is toothpaste a base?

Toothpaste is a base. It is alkaline in nature. … In order to neutralize the acidic effect in our mouths, we use toothpaste to brush our teeth.

Is Vinegar a base?

Vinegar is mildly acidic with a pH of 2–3. Apple cider vinegar is slightly more alkaline than pure vinegar because it contains more alkaline nutrients. However, it’s still acidic.

What are some common household bases?

  • Sodium Bicarbonate – Baking Soda.
  • Soap (A mild base)
  • Oven Cleaner.
  • Drain Cleaner.
  • Toothpaste.
  • Bleach.
  • Ammonia (Sometime found in hair products or cleaning products)
  • Washing Powder.

How do you find the base of a 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. Prefixes and suffixes change the base word’s meaning.

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)

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.

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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.

I think that the word you’re looking for is «Denotation«, see if it fits your request.

It’s (usually) the first definition you’d see in a dictionary, basically, and the main and primary meaning of a certain word. It’s opposed to «Connotation«, which are the meanings «given» to that word.

Let’s see an example, the word «Dog«. (I’ll use the dictionary as a support for meanings.)

Denotation: A domesticated carnivorous mammal that typically has a long snout, an acute sense of smell, and a barking, howling, or whining voice. It is widely kept as a pet or for work or field sports.

«This is my dog.»

Connotation: (or better, one of the main connotations) — A person regarded as unpleasant, contemptible, or wicked (used as a term of abuse).

«Come out, Michael, you dog!»

EDIT after your edit: The first meaning of «crazy» (denotation) is «being mentally ill». The other ones are given, because silly people behave similarly to the real «crazy» ones. It’s not an individual thing.

Even if the first meaning you «got to know» was that one, the real meaning will be the one related to the illness anyway, regardless of your own experience. Otherwise, everyone could change the meaning of any word, causing troubles and misunderstandings.

Don’t confuse your own experience/point of view/gut-feeling with the real «meaning-structure» of a word.

Continue Learning about English Language Arts

How does a prefix change the meaning of a word?

is added to the beginning of the base word and changes the base
words meaning


How does the suffix change the meaning of the base word in the word frustration?

You twerk


What is the base word of reliable?

Rely.
Meaning relying on you.


What is suffix in gymnastics how does the suffix change the meaning of the base word?

The suffix in the word gymnastics is the ICS. The ICS changes the meaning of the base word by making it a study or system instead of a person.


What is the meaning behind the word coherent?

The meaning behind the word coherent can be explaned as
following: That one understand whats beeing said, that it is clear,
that it is rational and logical.

  1. The object of semasiology.
    Two approaches to the study of meaning.

  2. Types of meaning.

  3. Meaning and motivation.

3.1.
The branch of lexicology which studies meaning is called
«semasiology«.
Sometimes the term «semantics»
is used as a synonym to semasiology, but it is ambiguous as it can
stand as well for (1)
the expressive aspect of language in general and (2)
the meaning of one particular word.

Meaning
is certainly the most important property of the word but what is
«meaning»?

Meaning
is one of the most controversial terms in lexicology. At present
there is no generally accepted definition of meaning. Prof.
Smirnitsky defines meaning as «a certain reflection in the mind
of objects, phenomena or relations that makes part of the linguistic
sign, its so-called inner facet, whereas the sound form functions as
its outer facet». Generally speaking, meaning can be described
as a component of the word through which a concept is communicated,
enabling the word to denote objects in the real world.

There are
two
approaches

to the study of meaning: the
referential approach

and the
functional approach
.
The former tries to define meaning in terms of relations between the
word (sound form), concept (notion, thought) and referent (object
which the word denotes). They are closely connected and the
relationship between them is represented by «the semiotic
triangle» ( = the basic triangle) of Ogden and Richards (in the
book «The Meaning of Meaning» (1923) by O.K. Ogden and I.A.
Richards).

concept

symbol
referent

(sound form)

This view denies a direct link
between words and things, arguing that the relationship can be made
only through the use of our minds. Meaning is related to a sound
form, concept and referent but not identical with them: meaning is a
linguistic phenomenon while neither concept nor referent is.

The
main criticism of this approach is the difficulty of identifying
«concepts»: they are mental phenomena and purely
subjective, existing
in the minds of individuals. The strongest point of this approach is
that it connects meaning and the process of nomination.

The functional approach to
meaning is less concerned with what meaning is than with how it
works. It is argued, to say that «words have meanings»
means only that they are used in a certain way in a sentence. There
is no meaning beyond that. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), in
particular, stressed the importance of this approach in his dictum:
«The meaning of the word is its use in the language». So
meaning is studied by making detailed analyses of the way words are
used in contexts, through their relations to other words in speech,
and not through their relations to concepts or referents.

Actually,
the functional approach is basically confined to the analysis of
sameness or difference of meaning. For example, we can say that in
«take
the bottle
»
and «take
to the

bottle»
take
has different meaning as it is used differently, but it does not
explain what the meaning of the verb is. So the functional approach
should
be used not as the theoretical basis for the study of meaning, but
only as complementary to the referential approach.

3.2.
Word meaning is made up of different components, commonly known
as types
of meaning
.
The two main types of meaning are grammatical
meaning
and
lexical meaning.

Grammatical
meaning

belongs to sets of word-forms and is common to
all words of the given part of speech,

e.g.
girls,
boys, classes, children, mice

express the meaning of
«plurality».

Lexical
meaning

belongs to an individual word in all its forms. It
comprises several components. The two main ones are the
denota
tional
component
and
the connotational component.

The
denotational
(
=
denotative
)
component
,
also called «referential
meaning» or «cognitive meaning», expresses the
conceptual (notional)
content of a word; broadly, it is some information, or knowledge,
of the real-world object that the word denotes.
Basically, this is the component that makes communication possible.

e.g.
notorious
«widely-known»,
celebrated
«known
widely».

The
connotational (connotative) component

expresses the attitude of
the speaker to what he is saying, to the object denoted by the word.
This component consists of emotive
connotation
and
evaluative
connotation.

1) Emotive
connotation

( = «affective meaning», or an emotive charge),

e.g.
In «a
single tree
»
single states that there is only one tree,
but
«a
lonely tree
»
besides giving the same information, also renders
(conveys) the feeling of sadness.

We
shouldn’t confuse emotive connotations and emotive denotative
meanings
in which some emotion is named, e.g. horror,
love, fear, etc
.

2) Evaluative
connotation

labels
the referent as «good» or «bad»,

e.g.
notorious
has a negative evaluative connotation, while
celebrated
a positive one. Cf.: a
notorious criminal/liar/
coward,
etc.

and a
celebrated singer/ scholar/ artist, etc.

It
should be noted that emotive and evaluative connotations are not
individual, they are common to all speakers of the language. But
emotive implications are individual (or common to a group of
speakers),
subjective, depend on personal experience.

e.g.
The word «hospital»
may evoke all kinds of emotions in
different
people (an
architect, a doctor, an invalid, etc.)

Stylistic
connotation
,
or stylistic reference, another component of word meaning, stands
somewhat apart from emotive and evaluative connotations. Indeed, it
does not characterize a referent, but rather states how a word should
be used by referring it to a certain functional style of the language
peculiar to a specific sphere of communication. It shows in what
social context, in what communicative situations the word can be
used.

Stylistically,
words can be roughly classified into literary,
or formal
(e.g.
commence, discharge, parent
),
neutral
(e.g.
father, begin, dismiss
)
and non-literary,
or informal
(e.g.
dad, sack, set off
).

3.3.
The term «motivation»
is used to denote the relationship between the
form of the word, i.e. its sound form, morphemic composition and
structural pattern, and its meaning.

There
are three
main types of motivation
:
phonetic,
morphological
and
semantic
.

1)
Phonetic
motivation

is a direct connection between the sound form
of a word and its meaning. There are two types of phonetic
motivation: sound
imitation
and
sound symbolism.

a) Sound
imitation,
or
onomatopoeia:
phonetically motivated words are
a direct imitation of the sounds they denote (or the sounds produced
by actions or objects they denote),

e.g.
buzz,
swish, bang, thud, cuckoo.

b) Sound
symbolism
.
It’s argued by some linguists that the sounds that make up a word may
reflect or symbolise the properties of the object which the word
refers
to, i.e. they may suggest size, shape, speed, colour, etc.

e.g.
back
vowels

suggest big size, heavy weight, dark colour, front
vowels

suggest lightness, smallness, etc.

Many
words beginning with sl-
are slippery in some way: slide,
slip, slither, sludge
,
etc.
or pejorative: slut,
slattern, sly, sloppy, slovenly
;
words that end in -ump
almost
all refer to some kind of roundish mass: plump,
chump,
rump, hump, stump
.

Certainly, not every word with
these phonetic characteristics will have the meaning suggested. This
is, perhaps, one of the reasons why sound symbolism is not
universally recognized in linguistics.

2) Morphological
motivation

is
a direct connection between the lexical meaning of the component
morphemes, the pattern of their arrangement and the meaning of the
word.

Morphologically motivated
words are those whose meaning is determined by the meaning of their
components,

e.g.
re-write
«write
again»,
ex-wife
«former
wife».

The degree
of morphological motivation may be different. Words may be
fully
motivated

(then they are transparent), partially
mo
tivated
and
non-motivated

(idiomatic, or opaque).

a)
If the meaning of the word is determined by the meaning of the
components
and the structural pattern, it is fully
motivated
:
e.g. hatless.

b)
If the connection between the morphemic composition of a word and
its meaning is arbitrary, the word is non-motivated,
e.g. buttercup
«yellow-flowered plant».

c)
In hammer
-er
shows that it is an instrument, but what is «hamming«?
«Ham»
has no lexical meaning in this word, thus the word is partially
motivated
.
Cf. also cranberry.

Motivation may be lost in the
course of time,

e.g.
in OE wīfman
was
motivated morphologically: wīf
+ man
«wife
of a man»; now it is opaque;
its motivation is said to be faded (woman).

3) Semantic
motivation

is based on co-existence of direct and figurative
meanings of the same word,

e.g.
butterfly

1) insect; 2) showy and
frivolous person.( = metaphorical extension of the direct meaning).

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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.

  1. Noun (rabbit, ring, pencil, US, etc)
  2. Pronoun (he, she, it, we, they, etc)
  3. Adjective (big, small, fast, slow, etc)
  4. Verb (jumping, singing, dancing, etc)
  5. Adverb (slowly, fastly, smoothly, etc)
  6. Preposition (in, on, into, for, under, etc)
  7. Conjunction (and, or, but, etc)
  8. Subject (in the sentences)
  9. 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 is usually a speech sound or mixture of it. Is it true or false?

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

letters

letters

none

none

words

words

sentence

sentence

Answer: A group of words can make a sentence.

#3. Morphology is a branch of ___________.

Linguistics

Linguistics

Phonology

Phonology

Semantics

Semantics

none

none

Answer: Morphology is a branch of Linguistics.

#4. A word can be ____________.

an adjective

an adjective

all of the above

all of the above

a verb

a verb

a noun

a noun

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

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

none

none

both

both

Morphology

Morphology

Lexical semantics

Lexical semantics

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

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

Answer: “Cat” is a word.

#7. A word is a _____________.

group of paragraphs

group of paragraphs

group of letters

group of letters

All of the above

All of the above

group of sentences

group of sentences

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

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

both

both

cannot be divided further

cannot be divided further

none

none

can be divided further

can be divided further

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

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

Morphology

Morphology

none

none

Lexical semantics

Lexical semantics

both

both

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

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

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Summary: (What is a word?)

What is a word? - English Topper
(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.

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