Definition:
Study of morphemes; structure of words. Morphology encompasses how changing one word by adding an affix to the root can change the function of that word, but that the relationships between root, affix, and morphological structure is very intertwined.
Morpheme- smallest meaningful unit of language; they are either roots or affixes
free morpheme- can stand alone, as in roots of words
bound morpheme- cannot stand alone and change the meaning of a word when attached to a free morpheme, as in affixes to words
Affixes- suffix, prefix, or interfix that can be derivational or inflectional
derivational- change the meaning or category of a word
inflectional-change or provide the grammatical information--the tense, number, gender (in French), etc.
Duke, Nell. TE301, Section 003, Fall 2007, Michigan State University.
