Morphemes

A morpheme is a minimal unit of meaning just as a phoneme is a minimal unit of sound.  A traditional unit of grammatical form therefore is considered to be a morpheme. 

Morphemes can be divided into two categories.

Unbound morphemes can exist on their own such as in

A parallel example of a bound morpheme is the entity un.

Morphemes are the smallest units of language. When we analyze a specific morpheme we are examining the shape of the word or word part.  

I will record a song and maybe produce a record of it.  The morpheme is the same shape but the phoneme differs.

  Euphemism is basically a good word substituted for a

  less desirable word.  For example doctors say that

  the patient has expired, in other words breathed his

  last.  It sounds so much less harsh than saying that the

  patient has died.

   A knowledge of borrowed morphemes is useful. 

   Words that contain the --eu-- Greek morpheme   

   include: eulogy,  euphemism, eucharist, eudaemon,  

   eudaemonia, eugenic, and eupepsis.

   Some morphemes are bound and others are free.   

   Free morphemes can exist on their own or as part of  

   a larger word.  In is a free morpheme and un is a 

   bound morpheme.  Into contains two morphemes,

   one free and the other bound.

What is a Morpheme?

 Morphemes