Word

A word is most simply defined as an element that is listed in the dictionary (= lexeme) or that occurs between two spaces in the spelling or the linguist's description (= word-form).

These definitions are of course not satisfactory, because they do not say why linguists enter elements into a dictionary or write them between two spaces.

Subtypes

• lexeme (= a dictionary word)
• word-form, grammatical word (= a text word, occurring between two spaces)

Other languages

French mot German Wort