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A word is a basic element of language that carries meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. [1] Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguists on its definition and numerous attempts to find specific criteria of the concept remain controversial. [2]
Meaning Origin language and etymology Example(s) a-, an-not, without (alpha privative) Greek ἀ-/ἀν-(a-/an-), not, without analgesic, apathy, anencephaly: ab-from; away from Latin abduction, abdomen: abdomin-of or relating to the abdomen: Latin abdōmen, abdomen, fat around the belly abdomen, abdominal -ac: pertaining to; one afflicted with
The most common definition equates words with lemmas (the inflected or dictionary form; this includes walk, but not walks, walked or walking). Most of the time lemmas do not include proper nouns (names of people, places, companies, etc.). Another definition often used in research of vocabulary size is that of word family.
Semantics studies meaning in language, which is limited to the meaning of linguistic expressions. It concerns how signs are interpreted and what information they contain. An example is the meaning of words provided in dictionary definitions by giving synonymous expressions or paraphrases, like defining the meaning of the term ram as adult male sheep. [22]
A definition states the meaning of a word using other words. This is sometimes challenging. Common dictionaries contain lexical descriptive definitions, but there are various types of definition – all with different purposes and focuses. A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols).
The term "word" has no well-defined meaning. [7] Instead, two related terms are used in morphology: lexeme and word-form [definition needed]. Generally, a lexeme is a set of inflected word-forms that is often represented with the citation form in small capitals. [8] For instance, the lexeme eat contains the word-forms eat, eats, eaten, and ate.
Langenscheidt dictionaries in various languages A multi-volume Latin dictionary by Egidio Forcellini Dictionary definition entries. A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for logographic languages), which may include information on definitions ...
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