Root
Revision as of 12:29, 11 January 2008 by Haspelmath (talk | contribs) (New page: A '''root''' is a part of a word with lexical meaning that cannot be broken down further. ===Examples=== In the words ''un-ripe'', ''rip-en'' and ''rip-er'', the root is each time...)
A root is a part of a word with lexical meaning that cannot be broken down further.
Examples
In the words un-ripe, rip-en and rip-er, the root is each time ripe. The morphemes un-. -en and -er have grammatical rather than lexical meaning and therefore are affixes, not roots.
Origin
The term root originates in Hebrew linguistics and was unknown in Western linguistics until the 16th century, when Hebrew linguistics was discovered by non-Jewish linguists.
Link
Other languages
German Wurzel
