- The definition of a morpheme is the smallest unit in a language that still has meaning.
An example of a morpheme is -est in the word greatest.
the smallest meaningful unit or form in a language: it may be an affix (Ex.: un- in undo or -er in doer) or a base (Ex.: do in undo)
Origin of morphemeFrench morphème ; from Classical Greek morphē, form + French -ème, as in phonème, phoneme
A meaningful linguistic unit that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts. The word man and the suffix -ed (as in walked) are morphemes.
Origin of morphemeFrench morphème, blend of Greek morphē, form and French phonème, phoneme; see phoneme.
- (linguistics) The smallest linguistic unit within a word that can carry a meaning, such as "un-", "break", and "-able" in the word "unbreakable".
- The word pigs consists of two morphemes: pig (a particular animal) and s (indication of the plural).
- The word werewolves' consists of four morphemes: "were" (~ man), "wolf" (a particular animal), "es" (plural), and " ' " (indicating possessive).
From French morphème.