any of a small set of elements, analogous to the phoneme in speech, proposed as the basic structural units by which the signs of a sign language are represented, and including the handshapes, hand movements, and locations of the hands in relation to the body employed in a particular sign language
Compare allocher
Derived forms
cheremic (kəˈrimɪk, ke-)
adjective
Word origin
[irreg. ‹ Gk cheír hand (cf. chiro-) + -eme; coined by U.S. linguist William C. Stokoe (1919–2000) in 1960]