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Glite Dictionary
root word

root word

1 4.2
The basic form of a word after removing beginnings and endings
  • noun
  • /ruːt wɜrd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : palabra raíz
  • If you look at the root word psychic, it's psyche, the ancient Greek word for soul.
  • root words and their suffixes

Well, I mean, the root word is relationship.

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Examples

  • What is the meaning of the root word for gymnasium?

  • Hebrew bases much of its vocabulary and grammar on root words of three letters.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Well, I mean, the root word is relationship.

    The 85 South Comedy Show

  • What is the meaning of the root word for alcohol?

  • The Greek root word for forgiveness is "to set free."

    Blog text (34)

  • The Latin root word for commons is the same as the root for community.

    Academic text (2015)

  • I love the quote from Michael Hyatt: "Influence and influenza come from the same root word."

    Blog text (17)

  • Teaching is a list of 5,000 root words that are likely to be known by 40-60% of kindergarten through grade 6 students.

    Academic text (2014)

  • At this stage, syntactical analyses are conducted on the word to find the root word by removing the prefix or suffix.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The Latin root word for alcohol is "ol", which relates to fermentation.

Synonyms

root
vsroot word
  • Specialized
24 4.8

The basic form of a word from which other words are made

is the defined phrase stressing removal of affixes in linguistics
stem
vsroot word
  • Jargon
4 7.0

The main part of a word that other parts are added to

focuses on the simple basic form rather than on affix attachment role
base
vsroot word
  • Specialized
3 6.7

The main part of a word before prefixes or endings are added

is the defined linguistic phrase referring to that basic form
theme
vsroot word
  • Specialized
2 7.4

The base form of a word after removing added beginnings and endings

is the general basic form term without emphasizing inflection use
radical
vsroot word
  • Specialized
1 7.2

The basic form of a word before adding parts to the start or end

is the more general, everyday label for the same basic form

Surface Forms

root word singular
root words plural

Morphology

root + word

The meaning of 'root word' is directly compositional: 'root' (the base morpheme) + 'word' (a lexical item) yields the basic form of a word after affixes are removed. This transparent morphological logic is common across languages and would be predictable to a B1 learner who knows the two constituent words.

Etymology

The phrase root word comes from the picture of a plant: the root is the main part that stays under the ground while other parts grow or are removed. So, a root word is the 'basic form' of a word, the part that stays when you add or remove small parts like 'un-' or '-ed'.