lexeme
|lex-eme|
🇺🇸
/ˈlɛksiːm/
🇬🇧
/ˈlɛksiːm/ or /ˈlɛksiəm/
abstract unit of word meaning
Etymology
'lexeme' originates from New Latin/French 'lexème', ultimately from Greek 'lexis' meaning 'word, speech' combined with the suffix '-eme' used in linguistics to name minimal distinctive units.
'lexeme' came into English from French 'lexème' (used in linguistic literature) and was adopted into English technical vocabulary in the 20th century as the concept of an abstract lexical unit became established.
Initially coined as a technical label for an abstract unit in structural linguistics, its meaning has remained specialized and continues to refer to that abstract unit or dictionary entry.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
an abstract unit of lexical meaning that underlies a set of related word forms (e.g., run, runs, ran, running belong to the same lexeme).
In morphology, a lexeme groups all inflected forms of a word.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a lexical entry or unit in a language's lexicon considered as an abstract item (often used interchangeably with 'lexical item' or 'lemma' in lexicography).
The dictionary treats each lexeme separately, listing its principal forms and meanings.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/24 12:37