What is Root (linguistics)?
The '''root''' in language is either a base word, or a part of a word to which affixes are added. Or, it is the part left after affixes have been taken away. Technically, it is the smallest unit which carries [[meaning]]: it cannot be reduced into smaller units. It is the same as a free-standing [[morpheme]]. If a root is a whole word, then it is called a ''base word''. It is the word which stands at the head of a [[dictionary]] [[definition]], is the base of a [[word family]]. Examples: in each case in bold *Un'''<u>help</u>'''fully *re'''<u/l>act</u>'''ion *re'''<u>ceive</u>''' *'''<u>sci</u>'''ence. This one is interesting because it is so ancient. It is a descendent of the Indo-European root <u/l>scei</u/l>, meaning ''to cut'' or ''split''. It comes to us via the [[Latin language]].<ref>McArthur, Tom 1992. ''The Oxford companion to the English language''. Oxford Unniversity Press, 876.</ref> == References == {{Reflist}} {{stub}} [[Category:Linguistics]]