Glossary of Word Generation Terms

A

Affix: A morpheme that attaches to a word stem to form a new word or word form.

Allomorph: Different forms of the same morpheme, whose appearance is determined by context.

B

Base: The main part of a word to which affixes can be added.

C

Conjugation: The modification of a verb to express different grammatical categories.

D

Declension: The modification of a noun, pronoun, or adjective to express different grammatical categories.

Derivation: The process of forming a new word from an existing word.

F

Flexion: Changes in the form of a word to express its grammatical function.

G

Gender: A grammatical category that classifies nouns and affects word forms.

I

Inflection: The modification of a word to express different grammatical categories without changing its part of speech.

L

Lemma: The dictionary or base form of a word.

Lexeme: An abstract unit representing the common meaning behind a set of words that differ only in inflection.

M

Morpheme: The smallest meaningful unit in a language.

Morphology: The study of word formation and internal structure.

Morphosyntax: The relationship between morphology and syntax.

N

Number: A grammatical category expressing count distinctions (e.g., singular, plural).

P

Person: A grammatical category indicating the speaker (1st), addressee (2nd), or other (3rd).

Prefix: An affix attached to the beginning of a word.

R

Root: The basic element of a word, carrying the main meaning.

S

Script: The writing system used to represent language.

Stem: The part of a word that accepts inflectional affixes.

Suffix: An affix attached to the end of a word.

T

Tense: A grammatical category expressing time reference.

W

Word Form: A specific form of a word used in a particular grammatical context.

Word Generation: The process of creating different forms of a word based on grammatical rules.