morpheme
noun /ˈmɔːfiːm/
/ˈmɔːrfiːm/
(grammar)- the smallest unit of meaning that a word can be divided into
- The word ‘like’ contains one morpheme but ‘un-like-ly’ contains three.
Word Originlate 19th cent.: from French morphème, from Greek morphē ‘form’, on the pattern of French phonème ‘phoneme’.