Word
In linguistics, a word is the smallest element that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content (with literal or practical meaning). This contrasts deeply with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own. A word may consist of a single morpheme (for example: oh!, rock, red, quick, run, expect), or several (rocks, redness, quickly, running, unexpected), whereas a morpheme may not be able to stand on its own as a word (in the words just mentioned, these are -s, -ness, -ly, -ing, un-, -ed). A complex word will typically include a root and one or more affixes (rock-s, red-ness, quick-ly, run-ning, un-expect-ed), or more than one root in a compound (black-board, rat-race). Words can be put together to build larger elements of language, such as phrases (a red rock), clauses (I threw a rock), and sentences (He threw a rock too, but he missed).
The term word may refer to a spoken word or to a written word, or sometimes to the abstract concept behind either. Spoken words are made up of units of sound called phonemes, and written words of symbols called graphemes, such as the letters of the English alphabet.
Latest News for: word
5 Words That Mean Something Different To A Laser Physicist
Forbes
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Letter: Words ring true on abortion
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Canberra Times 16 Mar 2019'I’m still in the pit trying to get out': Franchisees need more than RFG's shallow words
Canberra Times 16 Mar 2019Hello, brother: New Zealand mosque shooting victim's last words to attacker
Indiatoday 16 Mar 2019CNN's Chris Cuomo twists Trump's words in interview with Kellyanne Conway
Fox News 16 Mar 2019Selena Gomez Shares Kind Words About Her Newly Married Ex, Justin Bieber
Inquisitr 16 Mar 2019Hindi Alphabets & Words Book
ZDNet 16 Mar 2019Letter: Ban politicians from using word 'free'
Wooster Daily Record
16 Mar 2019
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